Fighting Fate
by hikarijade13
Summary: It's no secret that Juvia adores Gray. Unfortunately her over-the-top affection annoys the hell out of him and he brands her as the only girl he'll never date. With Gray busy chasing other girls, and the ghosts in Juvia's past coming back to haunt her, what will it take for these two to realise you just can't fight fate? AU
1. It Started With A Kiss Well, Kind of

_A/N: I do not own Fairy Tail._

_Prologue - It Started With A Kiss. Well, Kind Of..._

A new uniform. A new school. A new start.

Or it was meant to be.

"I'm telling you Erza, he pushed her! I saw it."

Gajeel-kun scowled, "I didn't touch the girl. We bumped into each other. It's not my fault she's so damn tiny she bounced off me. And down the stairs. It was purely accidental."

If this had been our old school this would no doubt have been an excuse fabricated for the teachers. That is, if any of them had dared challenge us in the first place. But this wasn't Oak Town and we weren't in Phantom Lord anymore. This was Magnolia High, Gajeel and I had been here all of two minutes yet, despite our best intentions, trouble was already brewing. I felt a flicker of worry that maybe starting over wouldn't be quite as easy as we'd hoped.

"Calm down, Jet. Are you okay, Levy?" asked Erza.

The blue haired girl who was, in Gajeel's defence, pretty small, wiped a tear away as it rolled slowly down her cheek, "My wrist hurts." Her right arm was pressed defensively against her chest and she did look a little pale.

"Ano, it really was an accident," I said softly, trying to ease some of the tension.

Erza turned towards me and I felt her cool gaze as she evaluated me. "Juvia and Gajeel, right? Two of the new transfer students. I'm Erza, the student council president."

As if she needed an introduction. Erza Scarlet was infamous. A living legend. Even in our old school that was full of nothing but badass delinquents everyone knew better than to cause trouble with anyone from this school. Magnolia High was a solid no-go zone because of her. And thus the perfect choice for getting away from our less than ideal past associates and all the bad memories. Except we seemed to be getting off to a really unfortunate start.

"Come on Erza. Just look at them. I can practically see the word 'trouble' stamped on their foreheads," said the other boy with Jet and Levy, giving us both a mutinous stare.

I sensed Gajeel-kun tensing up next to me. He probably wanted to beat these guys to a pulp. At our old school he would have and for much less than this stupid argument. A look that lingered too long, a hasty word spoken a little too loud, sometimes for no real reason other than he felt like it. Phantom Lord valued strength above all else. I strongly doubted that was the case at this school. Gajeel obviously knew that too so he put his strength to better use, stepped forward and swept the girl up into his arms. She let out a little squeak of surprise and both the boys with her looked shocked.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The words exploded from Jet's mouth in a rush.

"I did not push this little pipsqueak down the stairs. But if it'll shut you up I'll take her to the school infirmary."

"Like hell you will!" Jet said at the same time that Levy asked, "Pipsqueak?" They both looked equally outraged and I almost sighed out loud at Gajeel's complete lack of social niceties.

"Thank you, Gajeel. I'm certain this was a regrettable accident. I'm also sure you're aware that this school has a zero tolerance policy on bullying," Erza cut in smoothly with just a hint of warning in her eyes, "And thank you Jet, Droy and Levy for agreeing to show the new students around."

"We what?"

Oh. So that was the type of look Titania tossed around to keep the students in line. It wasn't aimed at me but I still felt the force of it. "Any more objections?" the redhead asked. Obviously, there were none. "Good. See the school nurse but don't be late for the opening ceremony." And she was gone, hauling on some poor kid's collar because his uniform was a rumpled mess.

"Umm, there's actually nothing wrong with my legs. I can walk, you know," said Levy from her perch in Gajeel's arms.

"Clearly not so well since you managed to walk straight into me," Gajeel retorted.

"She managed perfectly well before you _pushed_ her," Jet said.

"Can we just stop? My wrist really does hurt and this sexist idiot obviously wont see reason."

"Sorry Levy. Droy and I will take good care of you later. I can't believe we got stuck showing this lot around."

"Maybe I _should _have pushed you," murmured Gajeel under his breath and I elbowed him.

We headed down the polished corridors, the three boys exchanging thinly veiled insults with Levy as referee, albeit a very biased one. I was checking out the school. The vibe here was so different. All around us people were excitedly greeting friends they hadn't seen all summer. Bright posters for all the different clubs vied for attention on the walls. Baby-faced freshmen clung together in groups, as wide eyed as I must be. I wondered if-

"Damn! Watch where you're going!"

* * *

><p>Great. Just great. I looked down at my previously white shirt, now stained by what must be at least half of my iced frappaccino. Erza was always more proactive on the first day of a new term. She'd eat me alive for arriving at the opening ceremony looking like this.<p>

The girl who'd bumped into me pulled a blue handkerchief out of her bag and started dabbing at me. "Juvia is so sorry. Are you okay?"

"I told you," said Jet with a shake of his head, "These two are pure trouble."

I studied what must be two new students. The barest of glances at the guy told me that Jet was probably right. Tattoos and piercings did tend to say trouble. Never mind the fact that in his arms Levy seemed even tinier than I already knew she was. Jet and Droy looked pissed off and the new guy was none too happy either. Not my business. I wasn't the slightest bit tempted to ask what the hell was going on there but I wouldn't put it past Levy to have acquired yet another fanboy. The new girl though... Now, trouble or not, I could _make_ her my business. She was a little shorter than me, with blue hair curled under at her shoulders, wide eyes and fair unblemished skin. A pretty face and an even better body. A hottie. She was standing close enough to me that I could smell her perfume. Fresh and earthy. Unusual but not unpleasant. Kind of reminded me of... the way the air smelled after it rained. Like the whole world had been washed clean. I decided that I liked it.

"Can you show her to the opening ceremony? We need to take Levy to the infirmary and we could do without having _two _walking disasters with us," Jet added. He sounded more than a little fed up and I could hardly protest to being introduced to a beautiful girl.

"Sure. I'd love to," I said. The guy with her gave me a sharp look but he obviously wasn't her boyfriend or, he didn't know of my reputation, because he walked away from us, following Jet and Droy down the corridor. Which left me alone with the hot new girl who was clearly flustered and continued to pat at my chest. "What's your name?"

"Juvia. Juvia really is sorry. Gajeel-kun and Juvia are getting off to a bad start at this school. _Really _bad."

She referred to herself in the third person. Different and a little cute, I could deal with that. "Welcome to Magnolia High, Juvia. I'm sure things will get better."

* * *

><p>He was hot. Really hot and being so kind to me after I'd spilled his drink. If he noticed the cold coffee seeping through his ruined shirt, he gave no sign of it. Instead his eyes burned into me, taking in every detail. I prayed I wasn't blushing but if he was checking me out then it was only fair if I did the same. I pressed my handkerchief down a bit harder, under the guise of cleaning him up a little and was pleasantly surprised. His abs were rock solid. There couldn't be an inch of fat on him. I felt my heart skip a beat. I always did like guys who worked out. "Ano, Juvia doesn't know your name."<p>

"Gray. Hold this for me, would you?" He pushed his coffee at me and I grasped it with two hands, eager to help but disappointed not to be touching him any more. "Not like that," he said readjusting my hands so only one held the cup and the other was held out towards him, palm up.

Then he stripped.

I'm pretty sure my mouth was gaping unattractively open but I couldn't help it. Gray laid his tie across my hand and with lightning speed his shirt was off and draped over my arm and the school hallway suddenly seemed a few degrees too warm. Gray was so fit. His body toned and sculptured to perfection, a rival to any of the boys at my old school. No, better, definitely better. A warm feeling swept through me but I tried to ignore it. This was most definitely_ not_ part of the 'new start' plan.

* * *

><p>Any second now animated hearts were going to start shooting out of this girls' eyes. I took my drink back and took a long gulp, never breaking our gaze. She was blushing but it wasn't enough. I had a pretty good idea what a sweet girl like her would think was a big deal and what can I say? I lived to please.<p>

* * *

><p>He held the cup out to me, "Do you want some?"<p>

Oh. My. God.

An indirect kiss with a hot guy on my first day at this new school. Forget rough starts, I must have arrived in heaven. A heaven filled with half-dressed men. Definitely my kind of place. My heart felt sure to pound right out of my chest but I tried to take the cup nonchalantly, like I did this sort of thing all the time. Which I didn't. I hadn't been exactly popular at my old school, for various reasons.

"Yo, Gray!"

I jumped and what remained of the coffee sloshed out of the cup and over our hands. _Way to go, Juvia! Just humiliate yourself like fucking always!_

Gray was laughing at me, "You're really clumsy." He took his shirt out of my hand and used it like a towel to wipe up the coffee, first off our hands then off the floor. Taking the empty cup from me he shot it at the bin across the hall. He didn't miss. I felt like such an idiot standing here next to him. He was so confident and cool and _together._ I liked that but it also highlighted the massive gap between us. My life was anything but together. I shouldn't have needed to be reminded of that.

* * *

><p>Reality check. This girl was so <em>not<em> my type. I had a bit of a reputation with women. Thus far it didn't include corrupting innocents and I planned on keeping it that way. Juvia was cute but things weren't going to work out between us. "Jellal! What's up? You're scaring the new girl."

"Oh, sorry," he said and we bumped fists. "What's this I hear about you quitting the dojo?"

I shrugged, "It's my senior year. I have better things to do on Saturdays then kick your ass."

He laughed, "You mean get your ass kicked by Erza."

"That too." No point denying it. Erza kicked everybody's ass so there was no shame in admitting defeat. Thinking of Erza, "You don't happen to have a spare shirt?" I held up the crumpled, coffee stained mess that had once been a part of my uniform.

Jellal raised an eyebrow, "Class hasn't even started on the first day."

"Her fault," I said and jerked my thumb at Juvia whose blush deepened. Yup, she was so sweet I could practically taste the sugar. I was normally pretty good at filtering out the girls who'd suit me but my aim was off this morning. There'd been something about her in those first moments when our paths had crossed, something dark around the edges that'd made me think she might be one of those good girls with a naughty side but that illusion was well and truly dead. Juvia and I were almost certainly incompatible.

* * *

><p>"Juvia is very sorry," I bowed.<p>

"Juvia. One of the new transfer students," the new boy mused. He had a really intricate mark on his face and I had to try hard not to stare.

"Hai."

"I'm Jellal, vice president of the student council. Nice to meet you. I'll have to arrange for someone to show you around. Not this reprobate."

"Who me?" asked Gray with mock indignation. It was immediately obvious that they were really good friends.

"Ano," I interrupted, seeing my chance and seizing it, "Erza-san asked a few people to show Gajeel-kun and Juvia around but Juvia would like if Gray-san did it."

"That's what all the girls say," Jellal said and Gray snickered. Jellal pointed at him, "You have a filthy mind. I did not mean it like that and neither did she."

It took a few seconds but then it struck me what had been said that could be turned into a joke. I covered my face with my hands, horrified. I must be as red as a tomato by now. How could this boy have me falling to pieces so easily?

* * *

><p>No doubt now. This girl was definitely way too innocent for me. She couldn't even handle one simple innuendo without blushing like crazy. "Gray!" An unmistakable voice yelled my name. Ah, man. I was so busted.<p>

"Are you harassing the new girl? And where the hell are your clothes?" Erza demanded. This girl must have eyes in the back of her fucking head or a sixth sense or something like that, damn. She always appeared out of nowhere whenever anything was going down. Usually to my detriment.

Jellal wrapped his arm around Erza's shoulders and tugged playfully on her ponytail, "Relax Erza. I'm keeping our resident Casanova in line."

I watched them carefully. We'd been friends for a long time but even I found it hard to believe when Jellal and Erza said they weren't fucking. Whatever. If they wanted to keep their friends with benefits thing under wraps from even their closest friends then that was their business. Right this moment, I just didn't want Erza to beat me up again. "Jellal is getting me a new shirt."

"Yeah, it's fine," he said, not missing a beat. Our history was complicated, what with our mutual links to Ultear who seemed to play almost sister, faux mother and definite royal pain in the ass to both of us at various stages in our lives. A lot had changed in my life in the last ten years yet no matter what, I could always trust Jellal to have my back.

Temporarily mollified, Erza turned her attention to Juvia, "Fine. You go get dressed properly and I'll show Juvia to the opening ceremony because at this rate she'll never get there."

* * *

><p>Erza-san and her boyfriend looked really good together. They must have been going out a long time to be so comfortable acting this way in school. Jellal was twirling the scarlet strands of Erza's hair around and around his fingers. "You changed your shampoo," he said, nuzzling her hair.<p>

Erza, Titiana, the legend who managed to scare more or less everyone with just the force of her well deserved reputation, blushed. _Blushed._ Like a normal in love school girl. This time I managed to keep my mouth shut, despite the second earthshaking surprise in under five minutes. "I didn't think you'd notice," she said to him.

"Don't I notice everything about you? Usually," Jellal pulled Erza closer, fitting her against his side.

Even though they were only standing there, talking, it felt like I was intruding on something private. It might have been the way they looked at each other, the easy, confident way he touched her, the way she _let _him, but I unconsciously took a step back, surprised by the intimate vibe coming from them. You'd have thought they were home alone, not stood in the middle of the hall with an audience looking on.

"Don't worry," Gray said, "You'll get use to them being that way."

"What way?" The couple said in perfect unison and Gray sent me a look that made it seem like we were co-conspirators. I didn't feel so far out of my depth now and it was looking like this new school might suit me after all. I smiled at them. It'd be nice to have real friends for a change.

* * *

><p>Juvia looked more relaxed than she had the whole time we'd been talking. The warning bell rang and Jellal reluctantly released his hold on Erza. The opening ceremony would wait for no one and as council members today was going to be hectic for them. Even so, Jellal took the time to whisper something to Erza. They stood there, lost in their own little bubble. Crazy. I'd eat my school tie if they really weren't having sex. The connection between them was off the fucking chart. I winked at Juvia and she smiled back, those blue eyes of hers sparkling. She was hot but way too sweet to interest me. A shame really as I wouldn't have minded having a taste of her. I took one step away from her but something in me wouldn't let things end like this.<p>

* * *

><p>I nervously tapped my two index fingers together. Erza was going to walk me over to the opening ceremony but I still didn't know anything much about Gray. What homeroom was he in? Would we met again? Did he want my number? This wasn't a huge school but it'd be nice to know this meeting wasn't a one-off.<p>

"Hey, I think I owe you something," he said and stepped close to me. My heart went into overdrive as he invaded my personal space. He caught my chin in one hand, the other circling my waist to land on the small of my back and leaned down. It was presumptuous and forward and I should have slapped him for his audacity. Instead I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating the kiss. As first days went this was fucking insane. And wonderful. Really, truly wonderful.

Gray's nose bumped mine and my first thought was that for all his bravado he was going to be a terrible kisser. But this wasn't a kiss at all. At least not of the kind I was expecting. Gray rubbed his nose gently over mine three times. I opened my eyes in surprise and was immediately lost in his. Despite my best efforts to keep it suppressed, a feeling I'd thought was gone for good sprang to life in my heart.

"There," he said in a soft whisper, his breath warm against my lips, "is the indirect kiss I owe you. Eskimo style."

And just like that everything was lost without me even knowing it was up for grabs in the first place. "Oh," I breathed as my heart twisted, "Gray...-sama."


	2. Only Girl In The World

_A/N: Fighting Fate and my first fanfic, Confession Confusion, are based in the same alternate universe. The timeline of the two stories overlap. You do not have to read Confession Confusion to understand Fighting Fate. However, since the two stories are closely linked they do contain 'spoilers' of each other._

_I do not own Fairy Tail._

_Chapter One – Only Girl In The World_

The walkway between the main school building and the gym was clearly engineered by a woman who understood exactly what it was like be young and in love. Yes, it kept you dry if the weather was terrible and you had to get to or from the gym. Yes, it was lovely and shady during lunch on sunny days so you could hang out with your friends. The architects had even bothered to make it pretty. All the harsh concrete was offset with vivid red, climbing roses that had burst into life at the first hint of spring, just in time to show off the school to next year's prospective students. But all that paled into nothing when compared with one simple, undeniable truth. The arched roof, the thick columns, the precise angle between the walkway and the school playing fields...

It was a perfect place for checking out your crush.

The concrete was rough against my fingertips as I peered around the column. There he was. My heart thumped painfully and I couldn't hold back a soft sigh. My Gray-sama. Of course whether or not he was _actually_ mine was largely debatable depending on who you asked. Unfortunately, Gray-sama and I had slightly different opinions on the matter but never mind. The term _unrequited love _might have convinced some to give up but not me. Gray-sama was going to be mine. Someday.

Opposite my hiding place, the boys were on their warm down, jogging a final lap around the playing field. Not long now and I'd be able to speak to Gray-sama. It felt like forever since the final bell rung and we'd escaped from class until Monday rolled by again. The perfect start to my weekend was always watching Gray-sama train. He'd ditched his shirt ages ago, like usual, and in the afternoon sun the sweat glistened off his body. He looked like a Greek god. Adonis sprung from legend to tease me. I bit my lip. I'd been under his spell since the day we met and the feelings showed no sign of abating any time soon. Mine for him, or his for me. Gray-sama didn't like me _'that way'_. I don't know why. I'd thought we'd shared a connection that day in the hallway before the opening ceremony but as the months rolled by he'd pulled further and further away from me. Sometimes I felt bad about it but I always thought that if something was worth having, then it was worth fighting for, and Gray-sama was definitely worth it.

Voices and footsteps drew me out of my thoughts. I slunk further behind my chosen column. That was the downside of this walkway, other girls liked to use it too. I didn't mind so much if they watched the boys train, unless they were here specifically for Gray-sama. Of course if they were I had no choice but to put them off. Politely. Usually. Okay, never politely, but he was _mine. _I had the right. Well, at least I thought I did.

The voices grew louder as a group of people approached. I recognised one voice and relaxed. Lucy-san. We'd had a bit of a rivalry at the beginning of the school year but since January she'd been dating Natsu. They seemed happy together and we'd become really good friends now that I was confident she wasn't going after Gray-sama. My attention was split between what she was saying and watching Gray-sama but one phrase stood out. _Confessing is never easy._

That was certainly true but if someone was here to confess to Gray-sama they'd find it a hell of a lot harder as long as I was here. Resolved, I stole a peek at who was planning on upstaging me. Lucy, Erza and Cana. No way. Lucy had Natsu. Erza had Jellal. Kind of. Truth be told I wasn't really sure about them. They acted like a couple but both of them always denied dating. It was weird. In any case that left Cana and as far as I knew she had plenty of lovers. Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker and Jim Beam just to name a few. I seriously doubted that she was interested in anything that didn't come in a bottle. Or better still, a keg.

Curious, I tried harder to hear what they were saying but they'd stopped too far down the walkway for me to hear anything more than the odd phrase here and there. Fortunately, the scene didn't require words. Erza-san stood in the middle of her friends, anxiously twisting a letter in her hands. Lucy laid a hand on Erza's arm and the fidgety motion stopped. I'd seen this a million times before. Those tense moments before a girl confronted her crush with a confession letter but surely that couldn't be what was happening now. I mean, this was _Titania_. If she had something to say, she just said it. Cana handed a bottle to Erza and she took a huge swallow. Wow. This was pretty serious if the student council president needed to borrow some liquid courage to get the job done.

All at once the puzzle pieces fell into place. Erza was dumping Jellal and confessing to my Gray-sama. Oh my god. I knew that story about her and Gray-sama being nothing but childhood friends was bullshit. My stomach twisted into knots. Erza was beautiful, confident, strong and practically joined at the hip with Jellal. I'd never thought for a second that she might be a love rival for Gray-sama's affection. Across the field the boys were finished their warm down and were walking in the direction of the gym. Horrified, I watched Erza set off on a course to intercept them.

* * *

><p>I'd misplaced my shirt. Again. It hardly mattered anymore. I'd lost count of how many shirts I'd misplaced over the years and instead of breaking that bad habit of stripping them off, I'd gained a new one of compulsively buying them. It was easier than waking up one day and realising my closet was empty. In any case, the one I'd been wearing today was one of the few I made sure never to lose. It was from a charity event we'd done for the dojo last year. Just a silly car wash but I had some great memories of that summer day. Erza being her usual bossy self, completely oblivious to the fact that at least half the guys there were more interested in her wet t-shirt than raising money for charity. Natsu and I fighting like always but with wet sponges and water hoses instead of fists. Jellal actually getting most of the work done with that easy way he had of convincing people to follow his lead, without him or them realising he was doing it. All of us hanging out like we used to. I wasn't normally nostalgic but it felt like everything had changed this year... I got a glimpse of Gajeel out of the corner of my eye, talking to Natsu. Some of the changes hadn't really been for the worse, but I wasn't altogether convinced they'd all been for the better either, so I kept hold of the damn shirt.<p>

I peeled away from my friends and headed to the edge of the field where I thought I might have tossed the shirt. I scouted around, peering into the bushes that edged the playing field. It was testament to how lost I was in my thoughts of last summer that I didn't notice the trap until I'd fallen right into it. A hand clamped around my wrist and hauled me through the undergrowth and down onto the soft grass. "What the-?" I let out an exasperated breath. I really should rejoin the dojo. My reflexes were getting slow. I looked up from the grass at my attacker. I was not the slightest bit surprised to see Juvia silhouetted against the dappled sunlight. The girl had gone from wide-eyed infatuation to downright stalking over the past few months. No matter what I did or said I couldn't seem to shake her. Emotionally or literally.

She sat across my thighs, pinning me to the ground. She was still in her school uniform but it was Friday afternoon so she'd ditched her school ribbon and loosened the top two buttons of her shirt. If it'd been any other girl I probably would have appreciated how her current position sent her school skirt inching up her thighs but this was Juvia so my brain automatically short-circuited those thoughts. She was breathing hard and fast liked she'd ran over here to accost me which probably wasn't far from the truth. Her blue hair was currently littered with bits of green foliage. Just another change I hardly noticed. The day we met her hair had been long, curling at her shoulders, then she'd switched to wearing it in loose waves, then she'd sliced a whole load of it off and now she was growing it out again. Apparently I was supposed to like one of these styles. I didn't give a damn but that didn't stop her trying. A school bag was on the ground next to us, the contents threatening to spill out of it, a keychain with _my _name on it identifying it as _hers_. "What are you doing?" I asked and resigned myself to whatever nonsensical response she had.

* * *

><p>"Shh!" I hissed without heat, "Juvia is protecting you." I tried to ignore the way it felt to have Gray-sama lying underneath me. Believe it or not I hadn't actually planned on landing on top of him but if providence wanted to give me a helping hand I wouldn't say no.<p>

"I sincerely doubt that I'm in need of your protection," Gray said, not bothering to lower his voice at all.

"Gray-sama!" I placed my hand gently over his mouth, "Be quiet please. Erza-san is looking for you." That got his attention. He pulled my hand away and whispered, "Why? I haven't done anything. I think."

"Hmm," I hummed softly and leaned over him to peer under the bushes. I felt a secret thrill as my breasts brushed against his bare chest. He was warm and sweaty and so _male. _It was intoxicating and a soft flame stirred deep down inside me. My love for Gray-sama was pure but somehow he always had me thinking dirty thoughts.

"Juvia, why? Did she tell you?" Gray-sama's breath tickled my ear like he was whispering a secret but his hands landed on my waist and I could feel him trying to push me off.

* * *

><p>Juvia was draped all over me. Annoyingly I didn't think I could shift her without hurting her. She was bizarrely strong. Most of the time she just clung on my arm or hovered around me but once in awhile she'd do something that reminded me so much of the moves we used at the dojo. Which was ridiculous. Juvia was soft and sweet, nothing like Erza or even someone like Meredy who looked cute but would put you on your ass if you weren't paying enough attention during sparing sessions. I don't know how a girl like her had, firstly, been enrolled at Oak Town High and, secondly, actually managed not to end up in intensive care. That school was beyond rough. I assumed Gajeel had looked out for her. Maybe he'd taught her a few self-defensive moves or something. Either way, she was more athletic than you'd think. Still, I couldn't just throw her off me. I squeezed her waist, "Get off."<p>

* * *

><p>As if. I was thoroughly enjoying myself, exactly where I was. Gray-sama had become a kind of expert at avoiding me which meant I had to keep finding new ways to get close to him. This was heaven to me. Across the playing field I kept my eyes on Erza's bright ponytail, "She's talking to Jellal."<p>

"What?"

"Erza."

"And that's weird because...?"

It wasn't weird. It wasn't weird at all. I frowned, "Juvia thought..." Maybe I'd misunderstood something. Or maybe I had saved Gray-sama. After all, out of sight was out of mind. Hopefully Jellal and Erza would stay together because I really didn't want to get on Erza's bad side. I leaned back and smiled down at Gray-sama. "It's okay. Juvia thinks you're safe."

He quirked one eyebrow at me, "I'm thrilled. Now can you get off me?"

* * *

><p>Juvia slid with obvious reluctance off my legs and I could finally sit up. She knelt next to me, her face all aglow, nervously tapping her index fingers together. "Gray-sama, maybe, this weekend we could-"<p>

"No."

"But Gray-sama-"

"I said no. Like I say _every _weekend. Why do we have to go through this all the time Juvia?"

"Juvia is not sorry," she said adamantly and I knew she meant it. She apologised for a lot of things but never for trying to be with me.

"Thanks for saving me from Erza but you really need to stop doing this shit. It's annoying."

She pouted and tilted her head to one side, obviously planning to stage a protest but all the twigs and leaves in her hair had me fighting down a laugh.

"What?" She demanded, "What is it Gray-sama?"

"You're such a mess. Sit still." I reached for her and she went dead still. Her hair was soft and silky between my fingers. It just about brushed her shoulders now. Only a few more months and it'd be back to how it was when we first met. "Your hair is getting long again," the words slipped out into the quiet between us before I could censor myself.

* * *

><p>I was scarcely breathing, so desperate not to ruin this mood. That was the thing about Gray-sama. He insisted that he didn't like me but he couldn't change his personality. He hung around a lot of women and flirting was second nature to him. Sometimes I think he forgot he was supposed to dislike me. Like now. His fingertips rubbed against my scalp and I barely suppressed the shudder that tingled down my spine. "Do you... Do you like it long?"<p>

He shrugged, "I don't really care but..." He hesitated.

I didn't say anything, forced myself to restrain the eager questions that pressed on my tightly closed lips. I know Gray-sama thought my affection for him was over the top and lately I'd been trying to hold it in, at least a little. To be honest, I hadn't had much success. I didn't have much self-control when it came to him.

"It was prettiest when you first moved here," he finally said.

I knew it! I just about resisted throwing my arms around him. It'd taken eight months and a dozen or more different styles but finally I knew which one he liked. The irony of it being a style from when I hadn't been trying to get his attention was not lost on me. The other girls were always saying that I was trying too hard but I couldn't seem to help myself.

* * *

><p>Juvia's smile lit up her face, "Juvia will go back to wearing it that way for you."<p>

I scowled at her, "You're not doing it for me. It's your hair. Do whatever you like with it." It was so like her to take an innocent throw away comment and twist it into something it wasn't. I let my hands fall. What the hell was I doing playing with her damn hair anyway? She was the kind of girl that you smiled at once and she immediately started making wedding plans and picking out colours for the nursery. Not my type. I liked party girls. Girls who liked to dance in skirts a little too short and have the kind of fun their parents wouldn't like to find out about. Girls who wouldn't bat an eye when I disappeared from their beds the morning after because they'd only been in it for the one night, same as me.

I liked bad girls.

And Juvia was, well, anything but bad. She'd probably never had an indecent thought in her entire life. Doubtless she hoped to marry a fairy tale prince and live happily ever after. Why she thought I was that prince was beyond me. Not for the first time I regretted my actions from the day we'd met. I stood up with a sigh, annoyed at myself and at her. Why didn't she just give up already?

* * *

><p>Gray-sama was cross with me. With one sentence I'd ruined the exact moment I'd been so desperate to preserve. He stood up and my instant reaction was to keep him here with me. My fingers curled around the bottom edge of his shorts, "Gray-sama..." I couldn't keep the pleading tone out of my voice and he only looked more irate.<p>

"Just stop Juvia. I've had enough of this. I don't like you. Not then, not now, not ever."

Even after all this time and the many, many rejections I'd had from Gray-sama each new one still hurt. What exactly was it about me that was so displeasing to him? He went out every weekend and flirted with anything that had two x chromosomes. Okay, not anything. Every girl he 'dated' or at least hooked up with was stunningly beautiful. It did terrible things to my self-confidence thinking I wasn't pretty enough to tempt him when it was well known how much he slept around. But I didn't give up. I just tried harder to be the kind of girl he'd like. Because at the end of the day, I didn't just like Gray-sama, I was head over heels in love with him.

"We could go to a movie?"

"No." He said, his voice clipped and forceful.

"Hang out at the mall?"

"I said no!"

"Okay. What about-"

"What part of N.O. did you not understand?" Gray shook my hand off, shouldered his way through the small gap in the bushes and I scampered to my feet to follow him.

"The weather is supposed to be nice. We could have a picnic in the park. I know all the things you like."

His scowl only deepened and I realised now was probably a bad time to remind him just how much I tended to follow him around. It wasn't stalking, it was... research. How else was I suppose to find out intimate things about him? It's not like we had those kind of conversations. So I knew the foods he loved, the ones he hated and most importantly all about his allergy to nuts. A girl had to know these things. What if he finally decided to kiss me the day I'd eaten a snickers bar or something? I wouldn't mind blowing his mind but death was a step too far.

I trailed behind Gray-sama. He found his shirt over by the goalpost. I could have told him where it was but this way I'd had more time to admire his back while he searched. I watched him pull it over his head, muscles flexing under his skin. I suspected that even though he'd quit the dojo he still worked out. I felt that familiar flash of heat, imagining his body over mine. I longed to touch him again but he was already striding away from me, back towards the gym.

* * *

><p>Juvia trailed after me like a lost puppy. She was so fucking annoying sometimes. Most of the time. Damn near <em>all <em>the time. I'd thought at first that if I ignored her she would eventually give up but she never did. I wasn't sure what it would take for her to move on but I sure wished it'd happen soon. I couldn't take much more of this.

Outside the gym Jellal was hugging Erza, his hands that little bit too low down on her back for the gesture to be purely friendly. My step faltered. In my rush to get away from Juvia I'd walked to within ten feet of the very girl I'd been trying to avoid in the first place. Abruptly, Erza jerked out of his arms and stormed off, her face nearly the same shade of red as her hair. Jellal looked bemused after her, then caught sight of me and shrugged, "Sometimes I just don't understand her."

"Well, women are like that," I said, thinking of all the bat shit crazy things I'd been subjected to by Juvia this year.

"Hey, Juvia," he said and I felt more than saw Juvia appear at my elbow.

She waved brightly, "Jellal, are you and Erza okay?"

"Yeah. We're cool. She's just stressed about prom and graduation."

"Prom..." Juvia murmured with that dreamy voice all girls used when that particular topic came up.

I didn't see what the big deal was. I'd already learned the hard way not to dwell on that topic too much unless I wanted an hour long discussion of the pros and cons of sequins. I quickly changed the subject, "Any plans this weekend?"

"Dojo. Revision for the exams. Not much. You want to come round mine tonight? I think the girls are doing some girly stuff."

"Alright. If you're free Saturday night this girl I know is throwing a party. Her parents are out of town."

* * *

><p>"Can I come?" I interrupted. I tried, as much as possible, to always find out what Gray was doing on the weekends.<p>

"Was I even talking to you? Give me a break Juvia!" He whirled to face me, "Listen carefully, you are quite literally the only girl in the world I wouldn't want to spend the weekend with so stop fucking asking."

"Oi Gray," Jellal said, his voice full of disapproval but I'd really pissed Gray-sama off and he stomped into the gym. "He doesn't mean that. Not really." Jellal's smile was kind and not for the first time I envied Erza for loving a man who would never hurt her.

I nodded and gave him a tiny smile back. It was all the response I could muster as disappointment and pain flooded my heart. All these months but the rejection never got any easier. I'd love to be closer to Gray-sama but what I wanted and what was reality were more than a million miles apart. Even worse, every day the gap seemed to grow that much bigger. I hung around outside the gym for a bit. Maybe, if I was lucky, I'd find out where this party was tomorrow and I could go with Gray-sama. Well, maybe not exactly _with _him, but close enough. I sighed and tilted my head back so the sunlight warmed my face. My heart felt heavy yet I couldn't give up, would never give up. I'd be the only girl in Gray-sama's world someday.

He just didn't know it yet.


	3. Who's That Girl?

_A/N: My original characters are for the purpose of background only. If they become Mary Sue-ish someone be kind enough to let me know. I do not own Fairy Tail. _

_Chapter Two – Who's That Girl?_

"I need a girlfriend."

"Oh, god. Don't you start that too." I resisted the impulse to roll my eyes at the closest person I had to a brother. Lately, it seemed like everyone had gone relationship mad. I couldn't blink without one of my friends falling into some hardcore romance as if love was a contagious disease. One person got tied down and suddenly everyone was signing up for a voluntary prison sentence. The way I saw it, a cage was a cage, no matter how pretty the jailor may be.

Lyon looked at me over the top of his coke, "I'm serious. I feel like having a summer fling, you know, one last steady girlfriend before we go to college."

"Or you could just carry on as you are and to hell with going steady. Why get with a girl you know you'll dump the first week of college anyway?" Everyone knew that the combination of drunken parties and the chance to meet literally hundreds of new people with similar interests made college a graveyard for most high school relationships. Statistically, it was also an amazing place to meet 'The One'. If you believed in that crap. Which I didn't.

"You're missing the point," Lyon insisted, "It won't be _serious_, serious. Just exclusive."

This time I did roll my eyes, "When you find a girl to commit to that be sure to not let me know."

Lyon sighed, "When did you become such a cynic? You've never even had a serious girlfriend so I don't know where this aversion to relationships came from."

I shrugged. Lyon and I went way back but I wasn't about to explain_ that_ to him. We'd had our fair share of being rivals when we were fostered together, followed by a short time of being more enemies than anything else when our foster-mother died, but in hindsight, we'd been more angry at the injustice of the world than at each other and had eventually outgrown those feelings. Still, we weren't as close now as we used to be. The rift that had formed at that particular funeral had never truly healed but we didn't talk about that and carried on much as we always had.

It was usually Natsu that I considered to be my best friend, if I had to pick one. Not that'll I'd tell him any of my private thoughts. We had a lot of fun together but he was still an idiot and a pyromaniac. Thinking about it, I'd hardly spent any time with him lately. We had the occasional fight now and then but Lucy had changed the dynamic of our friendship. I didn't mind her. In fact I quite liked her. She was pretty and fun to be around, and if she hadn't been so obviously into Natsu from the first week of school I probably would have talked her into bed with me. Numbskull that Natsu was, he'd missed all her subtle hints and it'd taken New Years Eve, a bottle of vodka and her tongue in his mouth to get the point that she liked him across. They been together ever since, which was cool, but she was always there. Constantly. Boys night had become a relic of a long forgotten time. Then again, if I had the choice, I'd probably spend my weekends banging a girl like her anyway.

I grinned at the thought. That was exactly the kind of weekends I _did _tend to have, minus all the commitment bullshit. All the fun, none of the hassle. I couldn't understand the compulsion my friends had for actual relationships. Why work so hard for something plenty of girls were willing to give away for free?

"Where are we going tonight anyway?" Lyon asked.

"The house of this girl I know. Her name is Risley and her parents are away this weekend."

"Sounds epic. Is this Risley hot?"

"Uh... She has her moments."

Lyon laughed, "Is that the polite way of saying no?"

I grinned and shook my head, "She's big into feminism and all sorts of other campaigns. Kind of flip-flops between being a health conscious, save the planet, vegetarian or a hell raising, bra burning, slightly crazy fanatic. I'm never sure which side of her I'll get. Vegetarian Risley is hot. Bra burning Risley thinks big is beautiful and is not so hot." There was nothing wrong with a few curves but Risley took the idea that two (or twenty) cheeseburgers too far. It was a shame because she had such a pretty face. I'd met her a few months ago and we'd started an ongoing idle flirtation, then she'd gone all supersize on me and relegated herself into my friend zone. The invitation to her party had found its way onto my Facebook page a few days ago. I'd initially planned on ignoring it but I had nothing better to do except revise and I was bored to death with that. As an added bonus, Risley attended an exclusive all girl school on the outskirts of Magnolia. At the very least not all of her friends would have the same yo-yo weight issues that Risley did. "She's cool though."

"Then why haven't I seen her around before?" Lyon looked sceptical.

"Relax man, have I ever led you astray? She goes to Mermaid Heel."

"An all girl school?"

I winked at him, "This party will be like shooting fish in a barrel." Lyon could look for a girlfriend all he wanted, I was out to get laid tonight and what better place than a house party full of girls starved of male attention?

* * *

><p>"Do you think Juvia is pretty?"<p>

"You're kidding, right? Why the hell would you ask me that?" Gajeel glared up at me.

I shrugged, "Who else is Juvia supposed to ask?"

"Of course I think you're pretty," he said with a sigh that was quickly followed by a mumble that sounded suspiciously like 'attention seeker'.

"Juvia heard that!" I cried indignantly but Gajeel only laughed at me and I couldn't help smiling back at him. We were outside the school auditorium, feeding the fish in the massive tank that always wowed visitors. It was pretty impressive, taking up a third of the hallway so that students had no choice but to walk around it like a river flowing around an immovable rock. Its width was matched by its height which was why Gajeel held the ladder steady while I sprinkled the little brown food pellets across the surface of the water. "There you go," I murmured as the fish rushed to the top of the tank. I watched them for a moment, light playing off their scales as they swam effortlessly around.

"Are you nearly finished? This is our last task for today and I have plans for tonight."

I could hear the impatience in his voice so I started making my way down the ladder. By rights we had paid back the debt we owed Makarov-sensei many times over by now but we still spent every Saturday afternoon at school doing odd jobs for him anyway. We might have compensated for what we'd done to him but what he'd given us in exchange had no equivalent. I'd probably make a point of stopping by the school even after I graduated. I mean, if it wasn't for Makarov-sensei then right now I'd probably be...

"Don't think about it, Juvia" Gajeel said as I stepped off the bottom rung of the ladder and turned around to face him.

He was always so good at reading me, "I can't help it sometimes, and I don't think we should ever forget how lucky we are not to be there anymore."

He nodded, "Of course, but don't let it get you down. We're not those people now and we never will be again."

Gajeel was right so I pushed the memories down and smiled instead. "That's my girl," he said as he folded up the ladder. He threw one arm over my shoulders and we set off down the hall. I don't think people understood just how close Gajeel and I were. We weren't obvious best friends the way Jellal and Erza were. Gajeel would never put his arm around me on a normal school day but he was different when it was just the two of us. "So what plans do you have?"

"Levy and I are going to study."

I don't think college had ever factored into Gajeel's life plan but it was a definite fact that Levy was going, probably with a full scholarship too, so the guy I'd known who flunked classes simply because of non-attendance had quickly been replaced with someone who actually gave a damn. I'd never tell him but I thought bumping into Levy was one of the best things to ever happen to him. They'd had a bit of a rough start but had somehow converted dislike and mistrust into a solid relationship I couldn't help being a tiny bit jealous of. Where had I gone so wrong with Gray-sama? I elbowed Gajeel playfully, "Sure. 'Studying' alone in her room on a Saturday night."

As expected Gajeel didn't rise to my bait, a glimmer of a frown the only indication that he didn't approve of my teasing. If you didn't know them personally it'd be incredibly difficult to tell they were dating at all. Levy was so shy and Gajeel was an intensely private person. The combination meant that even me, his best friend who also happened to live in the same house as her, had only seen them kiss a handful of times all year. "We're going over world history. You can join us if you want."

"Thanks Gajeel-kun but if it's okay with you I need a ride to a party."

"Whose?"

"Uh, just a friend."

Gajeel slowed down, his hand on my shoulder forcing me to keep pace with him. "Who?"

"Does it matter?"

He groaned and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling as if appealing to a higher power, "Juvia, you need to stop doing this shit."

"What," I said defensively, "Is Juvia not allowed to go out and have fun?"

"Don't play cute. You know I'm talking about you showing up to places you're not invited to just because you know Gray is going to be there."

I blushed, "It's a house party. Lots of people will be there."

"But you're only there for him."

I tapped my index fingers together, "Yeah, but if you were Juvia wouldn't you go too?"

"No! Ugh, we are not having this conversation again." Gajeel's arm dropped from around my shoulders and he stalked ahead of me, opening the storage cupboard with enough force to rattle the door in the frame. That was another thing about him. Gray probably had no idea how angry Gajeel became thinking about us. Or the lack of us. Or more like my unrequited, never-ending love for Gray-sama. I got the impression the only reason Gajeel hadn't gotten into an argument with Gray about it yet was because Gray only ignored me. It kind of sucked that even my best friend didn't support my love but I wasn't giving up. "Even if you don't take me, I'll go anyway."

"I know. You're too damn stubborn by half. At least he has the sense not to encourage you."

Ouch. I bit my lip, "You're friends with Gray-sama so I don't see why you don't like the thought of me dating him."

Gajeel closed the cupboard door, a good deal softer than he'd opened it. "It's because I'm friends with him. If I had a sister, he's exactly the kind of guy I wouldn't want her to get involved with. He'll fuck you over Juvia. In a heartbeat. And be with some new girl the same damn day."

Double ouch. I didn't need to be reminded of the never-ending cycle of girls that flitted in and out of Gray-sama's life like it was a revolving door. But that was half the reason I had to be wherever he was. Getting with Gray for the night was like playing the lottery. You had to be in it to win it. One day he'd look at me and realise I was the most beautiful girl in the room but not if I spent all my time avoiding the competition. I couldn't deny how soul destroying it was to see him leave with someone else but no pain, no gain, as the saying went.

We stopped by the office long enough to say goodbye to Makarov-sensei. The slightly uncomfortable silence between us stretched on until Gajeel handed me my helmet. "Let's go for a ride," I suggested. Gajeel's only reply was to put on his own helmet and motion for me to get on. I climbed on behind him and resigned myself to his quiet disapproval. Beneath us the Suzuki purred to life and we coasted to the school gates. Gajeel flicked up his visor just long enough to tell me to hold on and I knew I'd been forgiven. He looked dangerous but underneath his rough and tumble facade Gajeel was a true friend. Besides, anyone who went to our old school knew appearances were often deceiving. I was the dangerous one. Well, I used to be. What Makarov-sensei's kindness and understanding had started, falling in love with Gray-sama had finished. That girl was dead and gone. I laid my head against Gajeel's broad shoulders and told myself I was a good girl now. Still, my heart leapt as the powerful bike surged forward. I guess some things never changed.

* * *

><p>"Ah damn! Why do you keep beating me?" Lyon threw down his controller as 'Game Over' scrolled across his half of the screen in time to the 'Winner' banner strewn across my half.<p>

"Because you suck at this and I don't," I smirked. That made it four-nothing to me. _Need for Speed_ was clearly not one of his strong points.

"Whatever. Hey, my parents said if I ace my finals they'll buy me a new car for college." Lyon went from looking sulky to smug in three seconds flat.

"Great. That makes you the designated driver. I'll get drunk, you'll drive my ass home."

"Haha. Very funny."

A faint female voice called from downstairs, "Boys?"

"Yeah?" We replied in unison.

"Dinner is ready. And Gray?"

"Uh huh?"

"Remember to put some clothes on!"

Lyon burst out laughing and I opened my mouth to make a smart comment back but the voice beat me to it, "You too Lyon! Never mind that you're too young and scrawny to interest me anyway."

Lyon's laugh cut off in a strangled gasp and it was my turn to laugh until tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes. As it was, we'd both managed to take our shirts off without realising it so the reminder was a valid one. We trooped downstairs, suitable clothed for dinner. In the kitchen Grace was pulling a roasted chicken from the oven. "Smells great Mrs B," Lyon said, his hand snaking out to steal a roast potato off a baking tray on the counter.

"Don't try it, if you value those fingers," Grace said with that no-nonsense tone of hers.

Lyon's hand froze then made a hasty retreat. A wise decision. I knew from experience that Grace knew of at least one more use for a wooden spoon that had nothing to do with serving food. Needless to say, the results were surprisingly painful.

"Make yourselves useful. Lay the table," she ordered and we fell into line immediately. Amazing how such a tiny woman could run circles around us better than a drill sergeant.

Dinner was much the same as always. Lyon voiced his objections to being described as scrawny. Julian was loud and chatty, his deep voice booming across the table. Grace plied us with far more food than we could ever hope to eat. She loved to cook and her husband loved to entertain. It was a potent combination that meant family dinners had been revolutionised for me since I'd come to live with them. I think Lyon would have stayed there half the night talking to them if I hadn't manhandled him out the front door. As was their custom Grace and Julian lingered on the front step, hand in hand, watching me leave. "Be safe," Grace called after me and I waved, knowing she'd worry until I was back home tomorrow.

"They are so awesome. I think Mr B just about broke my arm," Lyon said waving his arm in my face.

"That's what you get for challenging a retired lumberjack to an arm wrestling contest."

"Mrs B said I was scrawny! I had a point to prove."

"Yeah. You proved she was right!"

"Aw shut up. He has an unfair advantage."

"It's called good, old-fashioned, honest work. He earned those muscles." Lyon was hardly scrawny but after forty-five years of felling trees, Julian was built like a mountain. He was more than three times our age but you wouldn't think so.

"I earned mine too. This year I'll kick Natsu's ass at nationals. Shame you won't be there for me to thrash you too." He punched my arm, "Not that you'd be a challenge. You've gone all soft since you quit anyway."

I might have quit the dojo but that was an insult I couldn't let slide. "Come on then. Let's see who gets a thrashing?"

Lyon's eyes lit up with that familiar sense of challenge. Julian cleared his throat, "Now Gray, not in front of your mother." The warning was subtle, but there. Even when I'd been at the dojo, Grace had never come to a single competition of mine. She hated fighting. I knew she put up with it since martial arts had been such a huge part of my life from way before I met them. Still, she was the only person not to nag me about quitting.

I eased out of my stance. Lack of practice couldn't erase years of muscle memory. It was as natural as breathing to me. "I wouldn't want Grace to have to watch you cry."

Lyon scoffed and relaxed, "Really? Cause I was thinking it'd be a shame to have to embarrass you in front of her."

The moment passed and we climbed into Lyon's beat up car, trash talking each other the entire time. We were pulling out of the drive when Lyon's suddenly changed tack. "Hey Gray," he asked, his voice turning serious, "Why don't you call Mr and Mrs Belair Mom and Dad?"

I gaped at him, "What the fuck? Are we playing twenty-one questions or something?" Lyon looked surprised but really he'd already wandered into dangerous territory with the girlfriend shit and now that overly personal question?

"Dude, calm down. I'm just asking. No need to go all kamikaze on me. Chill out. Damn." His eyes flicked between the road and my face, confusion at my harsh response all over his expression.

I turned away and looked out the window. "They're not my fucking parents. That's why."

"Whoa. That's cold. They adopted you so, technically, they are."

"Let it go alright. I just don't want to."

Four years I'd been living with Julian and Grace. In all that time I'd never called them by anything but their names. They'd tried of course, in the beginning, to get me not to. I'd been the last in a long list of foster children to enter their lives and, for some reason I couldn't understand, they'd taken to me. The overactive fourteen year old who couldn't keep a shirt on for more than two seconds. There was no accounting for taste. I sure as hell wouldn't have picked me but they'd made up their minds. So they asked if they could keep me. Forever. I guess I was lucky to have them. I could have ended up being shuffled from place to place like Lyon had. Julian and Grace were older than most people's parents, could have easily been my grandparents, and were really traditional about a lot of things, like being properly dressed at the dining table. Don't get me wrong, I liked them a lot but, they weren't... It was just different. I couldn't call them _that_. Just couldn't. I think it bothered them a little but they didn't let it show.

We stopped at a red light. Lyon was probably staring at me so I kept my eyes resolutely on the view outside. "Sorry," he mumbled and the whole situation was incredibly awkward. So I flicked the radio on and decided to pretend like the whole thing hadn't happened.

* * *

><p>The dorm was unusually quiet for a Saturday night. I guess everyone was busy revising or at least pretending to revise. Another two months or so and not only would exams be over, but both prom and graduation would be in the past. Two months. It didn't seem long yet it was all I had left of high school. The thought was exciting and depressing all at the same time. Tonight, though, was just another party.<p>

One last look in the mirror and I climbed the stairs of the dorm to Levy's room, my heels dangling from my left hand. I liked living in the dorms. We had a lot of fun and the occasional moments of bitchy drama but I'd never had close girl friends before so both the good and the bad were a novelty to me. Upstairs, Levy's door was partially open and I could hear the quiet murmur of her voice. I peeked around the door.

Gajeel was sprawled across Levy's bed, for all appearances fast asleep, but Levy was sitting cross-legged next to him, reading out loud so I figured he must be awake. As I watched, Levy leaned forward and poked Gajeel's side, "Hey! Are you listening?"

"Yes. And no."

Levy frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

A rare smile crept across Gajeel's face, "I'm listening to the sound of your voice. No clue what you're talking about though."

Rather than annoy her, his reply made Levy blush. She set the textbook aside and shifted position until she was lying on her stomach next to him. "The sound of my voice alone won't help you pass the exam."

"Hmm."

"Ga-je-el," Levy said in a fake whine, "This is important."

"Hmm. I think you should kiss me."

"I think you should revise."

"I think a kiss would help."

"I think you're being ridiculous."

"Funny. I'm still thinking of that kiss."

"Fine! One kiss."

Even from the door I could tell her lips barely skimmed his cheek. "Is that it?" Gajeel demanded and Levy giggled. "Miss McGarden, I believe you're in desperate need of a revision lesson on kissing."

"Oh, so now _you're_ tutoring _me_?"

Gajeel's only response was to start his 'lesson'. I turned away from them and leaned against the wall. I was embarrassed. Not for them, for me. What was I doing? Following Gray around all year had turned me into a voyeur and a spectator in my own life. I was even spying on my best friend now. Cana was always telling me I had to get a life. Maybe she was right. I crept quietly back down the hall then made a big show of loudly dropping my shoes so by the time I got back to her door and asked Levy if I could come in, the scene in her room was perfectly innocent. Apart from Levy's blush, you'd never guess they'd been doing anything other than studying.

"Ready to go?" Gajeel asked, swinging his legs off the bed.

I patted my hair down. I'd made the decision to go all out tonight after my little almost argument with Gray yesterday. He wouldn't forget the way I looked tonight. "I'm ready."

* * *

><p>"Get the fuck out of my house!"<p>

"Alright, alright, we're going," I told Natsu. I was a little drunk so I didn't really care what he wanted. I might have turned eighteen a few months ago but, like most parents, Julian and Grace didn't really understand the concept of pre-drinking. Anyway it was more fun to meet up and get drunk together. Problem was, Lyon and I had started our night but Natsu was stone cold sober. And being boring. "It's fine. You've got time."

"Lucy will be here in twenty minutes. I actually bothered to clean up today. Not that anyone can tell because you guys came around and wrecked the place!" He gestured at the coffee table which was strewn with beer cans, a half empty bottle of vodka, and what was left of the coke.

I shrugged, "Why is she coming here anyway? Her apartment is much nicer."

"She just is! So make like a tree and leave."

I burst out laughing, "Are you twelve or something?" I hadn't heard that expression in such a long time.

"Let's just go," Lyon said shrugging on his jacket. "I'll come get my car tomorrow, Natsu."

"Yeah, sure, whatever, bye!" He all but slammed the door behind us.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and wandered down the front path, "Whatever happened to bros before hoes?"

"Uh, you have seen Lucy before right? I'd tell my friends to fuck off too."

It was the same thing I'd thought earlier but it didn't seem half as relevant now. I jerked my head to the right, "Risley's house is this way."

* * *

><p>"This is the house?" Gajeel let out a low whistle, "Damn."<p>

The house was impressive. It sat at the end of a long drive, its style distinctly modern. All sharp angles and walls of pristine glass. This was an exceptionally nice part of Magnolia, towards the outskirts of town where all the houses had massive gardens and the neighbours were far enough away to be almost forgotten. The party was already in full swing, light and music reaching down to where I'd asked Gajeel to stop. As I took off my helmet a group of giggling girls swarmed up the drive. They looked really young, probably only just the right side of sixteen. I felt a little overdressed compared to their skinny jeans and crop tops but it was too late to worry about it now. "Can you hold my bag a second. I need to change."

First things first. I took my hair out of the French braid. There'd been no point curling it when the helmet would only ruin the style. I used my fingers to fluff my hair out and was quietly pleased with the result. It framed my face in soft, effortless waves. Gajeel patiently waited while I checked my make up but when I reached for my leggings he started. "Whoa, you cannot just strip in public like that!"

"It's fine," I said kicking my sneakers off and removing the soft black leggings.

"That's a dress?" He looked aghast. "I thought it was a top."

"Yeah," I smoothed the fabric down and rested one hand on his shoulder to steady myself as I put on my heels.

"It's short."

"Yup."

"And tight."

"Wow Gajeel, your deductive skills would rival Sherlock."

He scowled at me, "Juvia..."

"Thanks for the ride." I shoved my discarded clothes and shoes into the bag, tossed my jacket on top and left him holding everything. There was a moment of quiet behind me, then Gajeel started up the bike and rode off. He wasn't the big brother, overprotective type. He didn't need to be. I more than knew how to take care of myself. I smiled at some random girls at the door. Jeez why were there so many girls here? Didn't this Risley person know any boys? Well, she knew at least one and he was the only one that mattered. I grabbed a cup of something off a table and immediately started looking for Gray-sama.

* * *

><p>As I expected the place was rammed with girls. It was almost too easy. I already had four new numbers in my phone and it wasn't even midnight. I loved chicks from all girl schools. They were either freakishly innocent or they were whores. There didn't seem to be many in the space in between which worked for me because they were either down to fuck or they weren't. There was only one downside to a party like this...<p>

"Oh my god. That girl I was just talking to," Lyon said to me. "In the black jeans and the pink top. You see her?"

I looked casually over his shoulder, "Yeah. What about her?"

"She's fourteen! Fourteen!"

"She looks way older than that."

"Exactly! That is so fucked up."

In my experience girls didn't seem to factor age into their friendships much and it didn't help that they seemed to grow up so fast. It wouldn't surprise me if Risley had simply sent a blanket invitation out to everyone she knew regardless of which grade they were in. It was all the same to her. "Look, avoid anyone wearing sneakers, ribbons in their hair or giggling with a group of their friends and you'll be alright."

"Sneakers? That's half the girls here."

"Exactly. Any girl old enough to go clubbing will own heels and wear them."

Lyon sighed, "I think you should add 'and be able to walk in them' to that list."

We both watched a pretty girl ruin all the effort she'd put into her make-up and wardrobe by wobbling her way across the patio. Her clumsiness was cute. In a little sister kind of way. "That's how I imagine Chelia being in heels," Lyon said.

"I think Chelia would break an ankle or her neck, or possibly both, within two seconds of putting on heels." Chelia was fourteen, clumsy to a degree only matched by Wendy and actually managed to both look and act her age. I only knew her because her older cousin was always hanging off Lyon much like Juvia hung around me. "Sherry still following you around?"

"No," Lyon said looking pleased. "She's chasing after some guy that goes to your school actually."

"Really?" Now there was an idea. Instead of ignoring Juvia, I could try setting her up with someone else. I shook my head. Why was I even thinking of that girl? She had nothing to do with me.

"Yeah. A few weeks ago we went to this open mic night and..."

"Lyon?" He just randomly trailed off and wasn't even looking at me anymore. I followed his line of sight trying to figure out what or who had caught his attention. There were too many people. It could have been anyone. I tried again, "Lyon?"

"Did you see that girl?"

I could barely hear his reverent whisper over the music. "There's a million girls here. You need to be more specific."

"The most beautiful one. She was... I... Just... Wow. I've got to go talk to her."

Interesting. I wanted to know who this girl was that had left Lyon virtually speechless. I trailed behind him as he made his way across the crowded patio and into the house. We passed through the open plan kitchen, grabbing fresh drinks on the way, wove our way through the overheated living room where an enthusiastic _Just Dance _competition was descending into chaos and exited into the foyer.

"Where'd she go? Man, you've got to help me. She was just so..."

I took one look at his expression and knew he was whipped. By a girl he hadn't even met yet. What the fuck? If a girl that beautiful was wandering around here then I definitely wanted to at least see her. "Describe her to me."

"She's wearing a strapless blue dress and heels. She's got killer legs. Beautiful pale skin. Her hair is loose and wavy to her shoulders. I have to find that girl."

People were streaming in and out of the open front door, forcing us to stand on the side. In a house this big, with everyone wandering around, it'd take forever to find one girl. I was going to tell Lyon that when he gripped my arm and shook me, "There! Right there!"

This time it was immediately obvious who he was talking about.

* * *

><p>"Juvia! I love your dress!"<p>

"Thanks, Millianna. Those cat ears are cute. What are you guys doing here?" I was trying to go upstairs but everyone had come to a standstill. By some strange coincidence Meredy and Millianna were squished onto the step below mine. Meredy lived with Jellal and Millianna was good friends with Erza. Most of my friends considered them as little sisters.

"Risley goes to my school," said Millianna.

"And Millianna invited me," Meredy added, her hand sliding into mine and squeezing, "But you absolutely cannot tell Jellal you saw us here."

"Why?"

"Well, I told Ultear I was staying at Millianna's house to revise and Millianna told her parents she was sleeping over at mine to revise and, as you can see, we're here instead!"

"Ah. Got it. You're sneaking out. Don't get into any trouble okay?" I could understand wanting to have fun and, unlike Gajeel, Jellal was definitely the overprotective older brother type but I'd feel bad if anything happened to either of them. They were safe enough at a house party full of girls they, or at least Millianna, knew. "Have you seen Gray-sama?"

Meredy choked on a sip of her drink, "He's here? Oh my god! He cannot see me! I'm toast if he tells Ultear. Excuse us!" She forced her way past the other people on the stairs and since she was holding my hand I was dragged along with her.

* * *

><p>Lyon's mystery girl was standing three-quarters of the way up the stairs. All I could see of her were her legs, which true to Lyon's description, were indeed killer. The combination of high heels and short dress made them seem endless. She probably could have been a model. "Is her face pretty?"<p>

"God, yes. I'm going to talk to her."

"Wait up a second."

Lyon glared at me, "I saw her first. Pick someone else."

"Relax. You can have her," I said, even though I was secretly annoyed that he had spotted her first. The girl half turned to say something to one of her friends, showing off more of her amazing figure. I could just imagine peeling that tight dress off those curves, running my hands over those thighs. Damn. Who was that girl?

"You can have one of her friends," Lyon said, putting me firmly in my place as wingman.

"Her friends..." I narrowed my eyes at the figures disappearing upstairs. "Hold up. I know those two girls."

* * *

><p>Meredy dragged me outside onto the balcony with Millianna fast on our heels. They both looked anxiously around. I figured three sets of eyes looking for Gray-sama were better than one, even if our reactions to seeing him would be completely different. From up here I had a good view of everyone on the patio below but it took only a few seconds to realise Gray-sama wasn't there. I'd already been at this stupid party for an hour. How was I supposed to find him? There were people literally everywhere. I leaned against the balcony and sighed. All that effort getting dressed up and I couldn't find the one person I wanted to impress.<p>

Next to me, Meredy's phone was ringing. She looked at the screen and groaned, "It's Gray. He never calls me. He must have seen me. I'm so screwed."

"Gray-sama?" Why the hell wasn't she answering then? "Juvia will talk to him."

Meredy brightened immediately, "Arigato onee-san."

Apparently I'd been promoted to sister status. "Hello?"

* * *

><p>I was confused for a fraction of a heartbeat, "You?"<p>

"Gray-sama! Hi, Juvia has been looking for you. Where are you?"

I felt a flicker of irritation, "Why the hell are you here?"

"Juvia is watching over Meredy and Millianna so they don't get into trouble. Don't worry. They're fine. Do you want to come meet Juvia, uh Juvia means, us?"

I had to hand it to her. The girl was good. She always turned up wherever I was no matter how hard I tried to keep my plans a secret. "Where are you? Do you know that girl with Meredy?"

She sounded far too excited, "Upstairs on the balcony. Millianna?"

"No, the other girl. The hot one."

"Gray-sama..."

That one little comment had her voice filling with disappointment. It was cruel but it felt kind of good to annoy her. She needed to understand that I wasn't at all into her. "Stay where you are. We'll be there in a minute."

"Wait! Don't hang up. Juvia brought a new dress and thinks you'll like it, Gray-sama."

"Uh huh." I led the way up the stairs. Lyon was going crazy next to me like every second away from his dream girl was killing him. I'd let him have a chance with her first but if she shot him down then all bets were off. "Left or right?"

"Go left and straight down the hall. Gray-sama, you know Juvia-"

"Not here, not now Juvia. Give it a rest. Harass me on Monday, if you must, but I'm planning on going home with a new girl tonight and it won't be you."

Silence. A short sharp breath. She obviously didn't know what to say. That might have been a little too harsh. I felt bad. I didn't really want to hurt her. She was a nice girl and in my group of friends. She just needed to get the fuck over me. Lyon and I reached the end of the hall and a welcome rush of fresh air came through the open sliding glass door. There was Meredy, Millianna and the mystery girl leaning on the railing with her back to us. I felt a rush of desire. She had a tiny waist and a classic hourglass shape. Why the hell hadn't I noticed her first? "I thought you said you were with Meredy and Millianna?"

"I am."

"Where? I'm looking right at them."

The hot mystery girl turned around. Familiar blue eyes looked at me with a mixture of sadness and pleasure. My phone slipped from my numb fingers and clattered to the ground. This could not be fucking happening. I blinked but the face didn't change.

Fuck my life.

"Juvia?"


	4. Complicated Love Shapes

_A/N: Lyon's eye colour is something of a mystery to me so I chose brown. Just go with it. _

_I do not own Fairy Tail._

_Chapter Three – Complicated Love Shapes_

There was something wrong with me. I must be drunk. No, that was a lie. I might have been tipsy but definitely not drunk enough to make this kind of epic mistake. _Juvia? _The mysterious hot girl was her? Oh god. I must be ill. A brain tumour maybe or temporary blindness. Mavis help me. Fuck. Was I dreaming? I pinched my arm. It hurt. I blinked. Juvia was still standing there. In _that _dress and _those _heels. Did she have a twin? No, Meredy's phone was still in her hand. Juvia and the hot girl were the same fucking person. How did something this messed up manage to happen to me? My brain felt like it'd been put through a blender. A snowstorm of thoughts were swirling around in there but I couldn't make sense of a single thing. It did occur to me that my mouth was hanging open so I snapped it shut and bent down to retrieve my phone.

* * *

><p>Gray-sama seemed really surprised to see me. I ran my hands over my dress. He mostly saw me in our school uniform . Was I that unrecognisable? Maybe he hated the dress? Was it too much? No way. I definitely looked good tonight. Was he pleasantly surprised? That'd be perfect if it was true. Maybe I'd finally managed to make an impression on him. I handed Meredy's phone back to her and she sent me a grateful smile. As it was, I felt like I should have been grateful to her. I didn't quite understand her relationship to Gray but he sure as hell wouldn't have been ringing my number if he saw me across the room at a party. Yet here he was. Taking forever to pick up his phone. Weird.<p>

* * *

><p>I took a few deep breaths and tried to get over the shock. The sensation was like receiving one of Erza's punches. Disorienting and painful. Of course I knew Juvia was pretty. I saw her every day, way more than I wanted to really, but had I truly looked at her since that first day of school? Obviously not, if I couldn't even recognise her in heels and a dress. One hell of a dress. It was sinfully tight. Absolutely nothing was left to the imagination. Was she wearing anything under that? Oh man, the mental images that thought brought to me. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I'd taught myself not to see Juvia that way and the whole process was coming unravelled in seconds. What the hell was going on with me?<p>

A pair of heels appeared in my line of sight and I made the rookie mistake of looking up. Having just had the entirely inappropriate thought of whether Juvia was the kind of girl to rock up to parties commando or not, the new angle of those perfect legs had my mouth going dry. Hot damn. What I wouldn't give to undo seeing Juvia like this. Against my will and better judgement, she was having the most potent affect on my body. I couldn't even begin to control it. Her mouth was moving. I forced my brain to restart, "Sorry. What?"

* * *

><p>"Gray-sama, are you okay?" I repeated. He was being completely spacey and not like himself at all. "Did you break your phone just now?"<p>

He looked blankly between me and his phone, "Oh, uh, no. Juvia?"

"Yes, Gray-sama?"

He swore softly, "So it _is _you."

I tilted my head to the side and gazed down at him. What a bizarre thing to say. Who did he think I was? So strange. I crouched down in front of him and laid my hand on his forehead. Maybe he was sick.

* * *

><p>I forced my gaze off Juvia's thighs and tried concentrating on her face. No good. The curse of seeing Juvia as a real girl was still on me. She had pretty deep blue eyes. Her lips looked soft... "Do you feel okay?" she asked and I could smell her perfume on the inside of her wrist. Fresh rain. I'd forgotten that. Or gotten use to it. I felt a crazy, intense urge to kiss her and knew I was in serious trouble.<p>

I wasn't a player. I just didn't see a problem with getting with a girl I thought was pretty. _Any_ girl I thought was pretty. I didn't mess them around. They always knew it was a temporary, physical thing. Problem was, right now, I was finding Juvia way more than merely 'pretty'. I needed to get a grip. I reminded myself that surely this too was only temporary. Any second now my brain would catch up, take control and put an end to this ridiculous yearning I was having for the one girl in the world I never expected to feel this way about.

"You don't have a fever," she was saying.

"I'm fine. You surprised me that's all." At least I was back to using full sentences.

"Was it the dress? Do you like it?" Her hand dropped away from my forehead and came to rest on the hem of the dress. I couldn't help but follow the movement. Her skin was like milk. Flawless. It looked so soft. I ached to touch her. My fingers twitched. I needed to get away from this girl _now _before I did something regrettable. Like haul her off into Risley's bedroom and find out one way or another exactly what she had under that dress, if anything.

* * *

><p>Gray-sama stood up so fast that he startled me. I'd been resting back on my heels but now my centre of gravity had shifted and I found myself tipping backwards. I had a horrible image of me sprawled on my ass in front of Gray-sama in this teeny tiny dress. Not a good look. I reached out and for an awful moment there was only air, then strong hands were gripping mine, holding me steady before pulling me smoothly upwards. I recognised the dark brown eyes that were gazing intently into mine. I racked my mind for the boy's name but it wouldn't come to me. Not surprising, considering we had never been properly introduced. I'd seen him often with Gray-sama, of course I wasn't meant to be there so I'd made sure they hadn't seen me. They went paintballing together, to the movies, kicked around a football for an afternoon. Sometimes they didn't seem to do anything but play video games and fight with each other all weekend. Or they went out and picked up girls together which I really hated but it wasn't like I could stop Gray from ever speaking to any other girls. Actually, now that I thought of it, the two of them were constantly stealing time to be together. On weekends, bank holidays, school breaks. Like secret lovers.<p>

Whoa.

The boy was still holding my hands so I couldn't be falling but somehow my entire world was tilting. I'd just had a revelation and not the good kind. Gray-sama never formed any kind of permanent attachment to the girls he went out with. They were there one weekend and gone the next, with few exceptions. But this boy, this boy...

Oh. My. God.

The grip on my hands tightened and I stood frozen, stunned with all I'd just realised. Then the boy looked right in my eyes and said something that literally blew my mind.

"Is this what it means to fall in love at first sight?"

* * *

><p>Lyon had just said the stupidest thing I'd ever heard and with a completely straight face at that. In the midst of my personal meltdown, I'd completely forgotten about him, never mind his obsession with finding the mysterious hot girl. Which was Juvia. I was still having problems adjusting to that but Lyon had gone from zero to one hundred in a matter of seconds. Love at first sight? If that was meant to be a pickup line, it was a terrible one. Thing was, he looked genuine. Or as genuine as you could, professing your love to someone who's name you didn't even know.<p>

Juvia's eyes darted frantically between Lyon and I. I could practically see her drawing all kinds of twisted conclusions. I shut my eyes and couldn't help mumbling, "This could get complicated."

* * *

><p>"Eh?!" Complicated? Gray-sama thought this was complicated? That had to be the biggest understatement ever. I loved Gray. So did half the girls I knew or at the very least they were attracted to him. That wasn't really the issue. I could deal with other women. Gray liking the guy who just confessed to me out of nowhere was a huge problem. How was I supposed to compete with that? "Gray-sama!" I wailed. A love triangle! Could things get any <em>more<em> complicated?

"You two know each other?" The boy was still holding my hands and showed no sign of wanting to let go.

"Lyon, Juvia. Juvia, Lyon." Gray said. He moved until he was leaning on the railing with his back to us. He probably didn't want to see us holding hands. I tugged uselessly but Lyon's grip only tightened more.

"It's not what you think!" I cried at the same time that Lyon said, "Juvia? That girl you're always complaining about?" He had the good grace to look embarrassed by his outburst but all I could think was that Gray-sama talked about me to other people when I wasn't around. That was a good sign right?

* * *

><p>I didn't need to turn around to know that Lyon would be giving me a strange look. He probably couldn't understand how I firstly, hadn't recognised my own stalker and secondly, had never told him she was hot. I couldn't fucking explain it either. Behind me Lyon had switched focus and was talking all kinds of crap to Juvia about how beautiful she was. The words 'gorgeous', 'angel' and 'love' were flying around like a Valentine's day planning meeting for the card writers at Hallmark. Dude was straight tripping. Equally annoying was Juvia's reaction. Poor girl didn't have a clue what to say in the face of Lyon's gushing other than 'ano ne' and 'eto'. He was coming on way too strong. It was vaguely amusing to me because it felt like she was getting a dose of her own medicine. Maybe now she'd know how it felt to be the focus of someone's intense unwanted feelings. I didn't doubt that Lyon's attention was unwanted. Juvia was so into me it was like other men didn't even exist. He could recite a million love poems. It'd be a waste of words and breath. She would never be his.<p>

"Gray-sama..." She said for the third or fourth time and I relented a little. Annoying or not she was still a schoolmate and part of my circle of friends. Plus I'd be a horrible friend if I didn't let Lyon know he was barking up the wrong tree. "Alright, alright. Enough of that. You're traumatising the girl and making me nauseous," I interrupted Lyon and wrapped one arm around Juvia's waist to pull her away from him. She couldn't disguise her look of total relief nor could he hide his disappointment. I could only hope that my new found interest in her body wasn't quite so obvious. I nudged her in the direction of Meredy, careful to keep my eyes on hers and resist the urge to pull her to my side. "You're supposedly watching them right? So go watch." She fled gratefully across the balcony and despite my best intentions I couldn't resist watching her walk away.

"You're looking at my girlfriend's ass," Lyon said bluntly.

"Oh fuck off. She is not your girlfriend and no, I wasn't." I totally had been.

"You moaned all year about that total hottie following you around? I always knew you were mentally unstable."

"She doesn't look like that at school," I said defensively. That was probably a lie. I just didn't look at her this way at school. "Anyway, she's crazy. Like proper crazy. I've told you about her."

"You neglected to mention a lot of rather important things. She's amazing, so sweet and innocent." A dopey grin spread across his face. "I'm going to wife that someday."

I groaned, "Okay, you're both crazy. Could be a match made in heaven but trust me, she isn't interested in you and never will be. That girl thinks the world revolves around me."

"Hmm, so her only bad trait is terrible choice in men. I can fix that."

I took a good look at him and realised he couldn't be reasoned with. He'd fallen hard and there was no cure for that. Hell, maybe, if I was lucky, he'd actually manage the impossible and get her to return his feelings. I risked a glance in Juvia's direction. I still found her insanely attractive. When the hell was this going to wear off? I needed something, or better yet someone, to distract me from these twisted thoughts. I scanned the party below, searching for a girl I could lose myself in, but my eyes kept returning to one place only.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe he just came out and said it. Just like that," Millianna said, shaking her head in amusement. "Way to go Juvia."<p>

"Juvia is not happy about this." The only emotion I could link to being confessed to in that fashion was anxiety. "Juvia doesn't want to be in a love triangle."

Meredy gave me a strange look, "You're not in one. It's more like... a love conga line. But even that's wrong because the only person Gray loves is himself so he's off in his own little love circle with you chasing him and Lyon chasing you. You'd be better off forgetting Gray and hooking up with Lyon."

"Datte, Juvia doesn't want anyone but Gray-sama."

This statement triggered rolling eyes from both girls. "Reality check. Gray doesn't have girlfriends. He has notches in his bedpost," Meredy said.

"Harsh," Millianna winced.

"But true," Meredy added and took a gulp of her drink.

"You shouldn't talk that way about Gray-sama. He's like your brother right?" It was a hunch more than anything. I'd been living in Magnolia for almost the entire school year but still couldn't make heads or tails of the complicated mess of relationships between my friends. Jellal was definitely Meredy's brother, even though they weren't blood related. She called him onii-san at school, not sempai, and he flipped into full on 'Dad'-mode if she mentioned any boys. To seal the deal they lived in the same house with Ultear. I didn't think she was literally related to either of them and seemed to fall halfway between older sister and mother to both of them. Just those three people were complicated enough but both Lyon and Gray spent a lot of time at that house too. Erza once told me that Lyon and Gray used to live there but that was before Jellal or Meredy did. Like what the hell? I guess if you were an orphan you got shuffled around a lot but when you added all the stories together the overlap was a bit much. How did anyone keep track of who was what to who?

Meredy burst out laughing, "Brother?" Oh god no! Jellal-nii-san is the only brother I have. Lyon and Gray are like... distant older cousins. At least to me. Ultear probably thinks differently."

"Didn't you use to hate them?" Millianna was leaning dangerously far over the balcony and I had to resist the urge to pull her back.

"Yup. It was like Mortal Combat every time they came around the house. Just, you know, family drama with Ultear and what not because of what happened..." She trailed off and I wanted to ask but knew it wouldn't be polite since it was clearly not something she wanted to go into. "We're cool now but I won't ever be as close to them as I am to Jellal. Jellal is different." Her face split into a huge grin, her affection for him written clearly in her expression.

"Hmm, Jellal-nii-san is really cool," Millianna agreed. She giggled, "I asked Erza-nee-san if I could be a bridesmaid when they got married and she blushed so much! It was funny."

"They're so cute. I wish they'd make their relationship official. They're always sneaking around. I mean seriously, they are _all _over each other _all_ the time and constantly denying that they're more than friends when it's so obvious they're in love."

Millianna nodded vigorously, "I know. Why- Oh no!" Her cat ears slipped off her head and she reflexively reached for them but she was already leaning so far over the railing...

* * *

><p>My fingers looped into the back of Millianna's shorts just in time. There was a sickening moment where her weight was counterbalanced against mine and time seemed to stop. Then her feet found the floor and the instantaneous panic was replaced with relief. "Are you out of your mind?" I yelled at her but she'd badly scared herself and clung to me, burying her face into my chest. I'd been watching her, okay, watching Juvia but that was hardly the point, leaning further and further out over the edge of the balcony until she was balancing precariously on her tiptoes. Then she'd practically thrown herself off the second floor for a furry accessory. "Silly girl. Think about what you're doing."<p>

She mumbled something, probably an apology, that I couldn't hear but could feel as her warm breath tickled my bare skin. Where the hell had my shirt gone? Typical. Everyone crowded around, asking if she was okay. I patted her back and she relaxed enough to turn her head and say, "I thought I was going to die!"

"So did I!" I snapped, still half-angry with her.

"Thanks for saving me Gray-sempai." She looked up at me, tear drops dampening her lashes.

I froze. "Please don't cry." I could not stand tears. It was the ultimate weapon in a woman's arsenal and completely slayed me every time. That easily made crying near the top of the list of reasons why I didn't have a girlfriend. I was not the shoulder to cry on type.

"I can't help it," she managed to choke out. "I was so scared."

I ruffled her hair, "But I caught you. You're fine. So don't." But her lower lip trembled and I figured I had about thirty seconds before I would be willing to sell my soul to get her to quit it with the waterworks. I grasped for something, anything, to distract her, "We should go find your car ears before they disappear."

That did it. Millianna let out a tiny gasp, her hands reflexively reaching for her head. "I have to get my ears!"

"I'll help you," Meredy said, intertwining her fingers with Millianna's as she squirmed out of my arms, fear replaced with a new sense of loss. "Sorry to ask but it'd be great if you didn't mention seeing us here, Gray."

The two girls glanced at each other nervously when I didn't respond straight away. "Please?" They chimed in perfect unison, eyes wide and innocent like they weren't drinking under-age and at a party when we all knew they should have been at home doing their homework or something.

Honestly, kids these days...

"See who?" Jellal probably would have marched them both straight home but that wasn't my style. "Do me a favour and don't leap off any more second floor balconies. I don't have a hero complex."

Meredy leaned up and kissed my cheek, "You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah. Beat it before I change my mind."

* * *

><p>My heart had literally been in my throat. I'd been standing inches from Millianna but my brain couldn't react fast enough to what was happening. Which was completely unlike me. Those kind of slow reactions were what got you beaten up at my old school. The people I used to know would probably laugh at how soft I'd become. "Gray-sama that was really cool."<p>

"You think so? I thought I was going to have a heart attack." He ran a hand casually through his hair and it'd be another few moments before I could get my pulse to return to normal. He liked to play it down but Gray was one of the most loyal, trustworthy guys I knew. His friends were his life. Nothing was too much for anyone he cared about. The callous _I-don't-give-a-damn_ attitude was just an act. He had a reputation for sleeping around but not for breaking hearts. I wasn't so naive or blinded by jealousy as to not see the difference. He wasn't a bastard and I guess that's why, despite everything, I still loved him.

Millianna and Meredy were stepping back into the house and the balcony was all but deserted. I turned to Lyon and told a tiny white lie, "Would you go with them? Juvia is worried about them." It wasn't completely untrue but my motives were impure. I wanted to be alone with Gray-sama.

Lyon took my hand and kissed it, his lips lingering that second too long. Awkward. "Anything for you, ma chéri." Oh dear, it was from the wrong guy but heat still managed to flood my cheeks. A convoluted and complex image of various love connections formed behind my eyes. Meredy was right. Triangle was way too simple of a shape for what was going on.

* * *

><p>It might have been my imagination but I swear down Juvia had just hustled Lyon into leaving us alone on this balcony. She probably hadn't realised she'd done it though. That slight blush, the way she blinked at him, a small enchanting smile to seal the deal. The perfect damsel in distress. He went off content to be doing something for her, none the wiser to having been played. In any other girl I would have thought she had good game. Yet, Juvia was too innocent for that kind of trick. Right?<p>

The music was loud. Some old school R&B track I vaguely remembered the lyrics to was playing. Something about falling in love with a stripper. I wasn't really listening. The rise and fall of a multitude of voices and bursts of laughter from below us faded away to nothing. Because I was standing alone on a balcony with a hot girl and there was nowhere left for me to look but right at her.

Apparently my mind had given up on adding gorgeous legs to familiar face to equal Juvia. I knew it was her but it was almost like being in a dream. It was too surreal. I watched her raise a hand to tuck some of her hair behind one ear. The bracelets on her wrist jangled softly. Slowly, one by one, all the finer details that I'd initially missed were becoming clear to me. The facts were undeniable.

Juvia was a beautiful girl.

* * *

><p>Gray-sama was staring at me again. I blushed harder as his eyes ran slowly over me. From his expression, it was like he was seeing me for the first time, and maybe he was. I stayed silent, conscious of my seemingly infallible ability to ruin good moods. When he finally spoke I was too surprised to formulate an answer.<p>

"Were you always this pretty?"

* * *

><p>It was a genuine question. I could remember being attracted to her on the first day of school but surely I couldn't have ignored her so much as to completely discount everything appealing about her. I suppose her bizarre habit of following me around had cancelled out any physical attraction I'd felt for her. I walked a slow circle around Juvia. Her blush deepened and I was tempted to explore how much she would let me get away with. "You changed something, didn't you." It was meant to be a question but it came out sounding like an accusation.<p>

"G-Gray-sama, I'm not wearing my school uniform and I guess I changed my hair a little bit. Don't you like it?"

She was nervous, her voice wavering on my name. I couldn't resist playing a game with her. "Hmm. No."

* * *

><p>Absolute worst nightmare come true. "Really?" I'd never looked better than I did tonight and he still didn't like me? I couldn't help feeling dismayed and more than a little defeated. How could he infer that I was pretty in one breath yet still deny liking the way I looked in the very next one? That didn't make any sense.<p>

"Yeah. You don't look like yourself. It's all wrong."

"Gray-sama-"

"Like this," he said and twirled a strand of my hair around one finger. "Is your hair naturally straight or curly or what? Make up your mind."

I bit my lip, "It's naturally wavy but..."

"Then leave it wavy. Stop throwing me off."

"Okay."

"And this dress is... distracting."

"Distracting?"

"You're such an airhead sometimes. It's obviously," he put both his hands on my waist and squeezed gently, "Too tight. Some guy might get ideas."

Gray-sama pulled me towards him until our hips bumped. Reflexively my hands landed on his shoulders and I felt that rush of excitement from being so close to him. His voice was a low whisper by my ear, "I might get ideas."

I think I stopped breathing.

Gray-sama was flirting with me.

With me. Not some random girl. Not some half-teasing moment in the cafeteria at school. Properly flirting with me like I was one of the girls he'd chosen to hook up with.

My brain wasn't getting enough oxygen to process thoughts fast enough to think of a response so I just stood there while his hands skimmed over my hips and down my thighs. Of course it didn't take long for his hands to run out of dress and reach bare skin. His gentle caress sent tendrils of fire racing straight to my core. I leaned into him and arched my back. He was holding me, finally, and if felt amazing.

* * *

><p>What the hell was I doing? Some part of me wanted to stop but it was swiftly shouted down by the part of me that recognised that Juvia's skin was even softer than it looked. I was assaulted with the sensation of her, so warm and supple in my arms. Before I could even think about it, I was spinning us around, pushing her up against the wall and nuzzling her neck. A lot of girls wore perfume but none of them were quite like this. That sense of yearning was back, stronger than ever. This balcony wasn't anywhere near private enough for what I wanted to do to this girl.<p>

"And it's too short. See," I let my thumbs slide under the hem of her dress and Juvia's breath caught in her throat. I was getting way too much amusement out of teasing her but I couldn't seem to stop. One kiss on her neck had her tilting her head to the side, an unspoken plea for more. I paused, my lips the tiniest fraction away from her skin, "Don't you have anything to say?"

"Oh... umm... Gray-sama?"

I pulled away from her. She was so confused. It was cute. "No one told you to look this damn good. I think you should apologise to me." I watched her lick her lips and could only wonder what she'd taste like.

"Juvia is sorry...?"

I nipped her bottom lip, not quite a kiss but damn close. We were heading for dangerous, uncharted territory in our previously platonic relationship. "Say it like you mean it."

The demand was like flipping a switch. Gone was the soft girl who was letting me feel her up on a shadowy balcony. This girl looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Gray-sama, do you want to punish Juvia?"

Hold up. Things had just taken a turn for the bizarre. There was a dark, hungry look on Juvia's face that said she'd probably enjoy it a little too much if I did punish her and just like that I was back to seeing Juvia as Juvia.

* * *

><p>"What?"<p>

"Do you want to-"

"I fucking heard you the first time. Calm the hell down. Why'd you even have to go there?"

He pushed off the wall and suddenly there was a chasm between us so much greater than the actual two feet. "Juvia wouldn't mind. Gray-sama could spank-"

"Whoa! I am _not _into that! Oh god," he pressed his hands against his ears, "Save me from virgins with over-active imaginations who think they know shit about sex."

Okay, this was going classically wrong. What had I said? "What? What did Juvia say wrong?"

"Don't 'what?' me. Look, Juvia, I'm really drunk. Just forget the last five minutes. I didn't mean none of that shit."

First off, I'd seen Gray drunk. He might not have been sober tonight but he sure as hell knew what he was doing. I recognised a cop out when I heard one. Secondly, _didn't mean none_? A double negative. So... He had meant it? Of course he meant it. I'd seen that look in his eyes and, despite his insistence to the contrary, I wasn't as innocent as he thought. I couldn't be misinterpreting the sparks flying between us. I'd had him right where I wanted him. Only now he was slipping through my fingers like silk. "Juvia is sorry. Really." I didn't know what to do, other than backtrack to the moment when everything started going wrong.

He sighed, "It's not you." Which every girl knew meant the complete opposite. "I just need to stay away from all of that," Gray-sama gestured vaguely in my direction. _That? _What? I didn't get it. He wasn't even looking at me any more.

* * *

><p>Apparently craziness was contagious. In one night Juvia had managed to infect not only Lyon, but me, with her own particular brand of madness. I don't know what his excuse was but I knew that if not for that dress she wouldn't have gotten more than a passing glance from me. That blue swath of clingy fabric was poison for sure but fortunately I knew the cure. I turned sharply and walked away from her. The quicker I got Juvia out of my system the better.<p>

I heard Juvia's footsteps trailing behind me and I could easily visualise the sexy way she walked in those heels. She was in my head now, in the worst possible way. I just wanted to forget her. Was desperate to forget the way she looked tonight. Back in the hallway a familiar pair of violet eyes met mine. The girl kept walking down the hall towards me, while from the fingers of one hand dangled my shirt, "I knew it was you. You're the only guy I'd know who'd throw his clothes off a balcony."

I grinned. She looked nothing like Juvia. Different eyes, different hair, different skin. They were as different as day and night. What better antidote?

She held my shirt out to me. I ignored it and grabbed her wrist instead. Seconds later we were kissing. Her surprise was obvious. A natural reaction considering I hadn't even said hello before putting my tongue in her mouth. I belatedly wondered if she might have gotten a boyfriend in the months that we hadn't seen each other and if I could expect nothing more than a slap from this, then she was kissing me back and the thought was gone. Good because I didn't want to have to think at all.

* * *

><p>What. The. Fuck.<p>

Two seconds after coming on to me Gray-sama was making out with some random bitch. Just who the fuck was this girl? I'd never seen her before in my life. Usually I felt dismayed when Gray went off with some other girl but right now I only felt irritated. Had he just been messing with me? That was too cruel. Even for him.

* * *

><p>"Whoa. Uh, hi! For someone who never called me, sure seems like you missed me," the girl said when she could finally take a breath.<p>

"You never called me either."

"Yeah, well, I'm busy."

"Are you busy right now?"

She gave me an appreciative look, "I guess I could spare some time after a greeting like that."

"Great. Want to dance?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

I laughed. That was a stupid question. When did this girl ever _not _want to dance? I let my hand rest on her exposed lower back, thankful to whatever fashion designer had thought up halter tops. Her skin was soft too but tanned, not creamy and pale. I half-listened as she launched into everything she'd been up to for the last year or so. Her hair was shoulder length but dark purple and perfectly straight. Figure wise I guess the two girls were equals. Still, with the perfect solution to my problems tucked snugly against my side, I couldn't resist looking back.

Mistake.

Juvia looked angry as hell. It was not an emotion I'd ever associated with her. She always seemed to take whatever I dished out to her with a degree of long suffering that would have been admirable if it wasn't so annoying. This anger from her felt weird. She was supposed to love me no matter what right?

Wait. That was dumb. I didn't want her to even _like_ me at all so she could get as angry as she damn well pleased. It wasn't like I cared.

But it was undeniably strange. For some reason, faced with the reality of her falling out of love with me because I'd pushed her that little bit too far, I felt profoundly uncomfortable.

We reached to landing and turned to head down the stairs. "Who's that girl? She's trying to kill us with her eyes."

Juvia hadn't moved from the doorway that lead to the balcony. Even pissed off she was still a sight to behold. I felt that flash of attraction and forced it down. It might have been coincidence or it could have been fate but when I replied it was into that tiny moment right between the end of one song and the start of the next. I wasn't expecting it so my voice came out unnaturally loud in the sudden quiet, carrying right down the hallway.

"Nobody. She's nobody."

It took a heartbeat but Juvia's face crumpled from steely anger into that pathetic _I wish that girl was me _look I was use to.

And as I walked off with another girl, I couldn't help feeling relieved that she was still so into me. How fucked up was that?


	5. Favourite Love Rival

_A/N: This chapter contains a few short flashbacks. The girl with Gray isn't an OC. She's from the OVA Memory Days. _

_Also, thanks to everyone who has written a review. I'd appreciate some specific feedback on the balance of Juvia/Gray vs Erza/Jellal in the plot. PM me or write a review and let me know, but please keep in mind that it's my intention for the story to be more Gruvia than anything else._

_I do not own Fairy Tail._

_Chapter Four - Favourite Love Rival_

Sometimes this place was busy and hectic, fuelled by adrenaline and the drive to win. Once in a while it would get so intense that my heart would feel like it was about to stop and my lungs would burn from pushing myself too hard. This morning was not one of those times. No, it was cool, dark and quiet down here, which suited my frame of mind. I didn't want to race anyone. I just wanted to take one smooth stroke after another and forget the world existed. I reached the end of the lap and executed a lazy flip turn. My feet hit the side of the pool, pushed off effortlessly and I was ready for lap sixteen, or maybe seventeen. I wasn't really counting because I would keep going until enough was enough. I couldn't say when that would be but with so much to think about I'd probably be here awhile.

Apart from me, the school pool was deserted. I wasn't surprised. Dawn on a Sunday was not set aside as training time for the team or designated as being open to the public. This solitary, quiet time was what I craved though. Sometimes a girl needed to be alone in her head with her own thoughts. Especially after last night.

Last night had been a lot of firsts for me. The first time Gray-sama had shown any kind of interest in me, albeit very short lived. My first taste of what it'd be like to be in a relationship with him, which could be summed up in one word - Wonderful. The first time I'd looked at Gray-sama and felt anything but love... No, that was wrong. There was no way I'd ever be angry at him for leading me on. I'd just been so annoyed at that girl showing up out of nowhere and stealing my Gray-sama away that the feeling ended up being misplaced. I think... What was her problem anyway? Even now, the thought had me picking up the pace and driving hard for the last few meters to the wall. I forced myself to slow down. Right arm, left arm, right arm, breathe. Steady. Controlled. No need to lose it over some whore.

Standing there at Risley's party, having gone from the focus of Gray's temporary desire to being 'nothing' had shook my confidence more than I would have liked. He'd caught me off guard, pulled on the strings of my heart and then left me stranded in a sea of complex emotions, feeling like the punchline of a bad joke. So there'd been another first. I'd chosen to avoid torturing myself watching him flirt with another girl like I normally would and decided to go home instead. Well, not home. The girls had been blowing up my phone for awhile with texts inviting me to Cana's house. I'd said I was busy but since I clearly wasn't...

_I rang Gajeel, half expecting to not get a reply since he was probably "revising" with Levy. To my surprise he answered on the second ring. "Hey."_

_"Hey, Gajeel-kun. Could you give Juvia a ride to-"_

_"Cana's house? Jellal must have really fucked up."_

_"What?"_

_"I had to drop Levy there too. Totally fucked up our plans for tonight. Something about Jellal being an idiot but I wasn't about to get into details, not once she pulled that stupid love movie off the shelf. You probably know more about it than I do."_

_Stupid love movie? Jellal? I really regretted not reading all the way through those texts. "Yeah, so could you?"_

_"Sure. I'll be there in ten."_

_"That fast?"_

_"I'm at Natsu's. Got nothing better to do. He's pretty pissed that Lucy skipped out on him. Won't quit moaning."_

_Natsu was like a kid with candy when it came to Lucy. That was understandable. Lucy-san was bright and funny and an all around great girl. Less understandable was how Natsu's ramshackle house shared a postcode with virtual mansions like Risley's house. I guess it was set back from the road and surrounded by so many trees that most people didn't realise it was there. The odd one out. Strangely suiting to Natsu-san. "Thank you, Gajeel-kun."_

_"Hey," he dropped his voice down a level and I had to strain to hear him over the music, "You could always go back to using your bike. I've been keeping it in really good condition."_

My motorcycle. I executed another flip turn and changed to the back stroke. It'd been so long since I'd seen it, never mind rode it. I couldn't though. Unlike Gajeel's rather innocuous black bike, mine had distinctive bodywork, instantly recognisable by anyone from the wrong side of town. Gajeel had offered to re-spray it for me months ago but I'd turned him down. I couldn't say why. I'd ripped away every shred of my old life but for some reason I couldn't let that go. It was nice to know that Gajeel was at least keeping it well maintained and cared for.

I passed the string of brightly coloured flags that let me know I was approaching the end of another length. My fingertips grazed the wall. What number was this? Twenty eight? Flip turn, deep breath, more. My muscles weren't burning yet. The ceiling above me was strung with pendants and banners. Magnolia High was a powerhouse of sport, consistently bringing home national titles from archery right through to wrestling. I wondered if Gray-sama knew, or even cared, that one of those up there was mine.

I'd always had a natural affinity for water. Swimming was easy for me in a way that a lot of things weren't. Things like making friends with girls. Or anyone. True to his word Gajeel dropped me at Cana's within half an hour of my call. I'd walked into the middle of the impromptu slumber party to be met with a pretty shocking realisation. Jellal and Erza really _weren't _dating.

_"Wait. So... all this time he hasn't been you're boyfriend? But Juvia thought..."_

_"That's what everyone thinks," Cana said. We were in her bedroom. Cana, Lucy and Erza were sitting with their backs against the massive bed. Levy was sitting cross legged in the middle of the rug and I'd stretched out on my stomach next to her to complete a misshapen circle on Cana's bedroom floor. It would have been just as easy for us to hang out at the dorm but inevitably the younger girls would want to get involved so whenever we wanted to talk about guys or simply hang out without censoring ourselves we came to Cana's. Her dad was never home but the house was always stocked up with enough food to survive a zombie apocalypse. And of course, this being Cana's house, enough alcohol to fuel an epic party before said apocalypse occurred. Tonight, however, the sustenance of choice seemed to be bags of chocolate, tubs of Ben & Jerry's and plenty of white wine._

_"Everyone except us. I guess now it's everyone except him." I'd never seen Erza look so down. She jabbed her spoon listlessly into her ice cream. Strawberry Cheesecake. Her favourite flavour but she'd barely touched it._

_"Juvia doesn't understand." I really didn't. I'd heard what she'd said but it was so unbelievable. Jellal and Erza acted more like a couple than anyone I knew. They were constantly flirting with each other. He was always putting his hands on her and she acted different around him. Gentler, more girly, still badass but soft around the edges. They finished each other's sentences so naturally it was hard to find it weird. I'd never seen them argue about anything. As far as I was concerned their relationship was perfect. Hadn't I seen them hugging at school on Friday?_

_Erza sighed, "I confessed and he ignored me. What is there not to understand? He doesn't like me that way."_

_"I can't believe he ignored your confession letter. At the very least he could tell you what he thinks. Even a text would do at this point. To just ignore you is... really bad," Levy tipped a handful of chocolate into her hand and passed the bag to me._

_"Maybe he's not ignoring me. Maybe he's thinking about it," Erza said hopefully._

_There was a long, quiet heartbeat and then we all erupted with comments confirming that he was most definitely, completely blown away by a confession from such an amazing girl as Erza. Because he'd have to be an idiot not to be interested in her._

Things had gone on like that for awhile. I'd seen Erza this morning as I was sneaking out of the house. Standing on the back porch, wrapped up in a blanket, watching the sunrise by herself. She looked as lonely as I felt. It hadn't been easy trying to reassure her that Jellal wasn't being a total jerk in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary. He'd fallen down a good few pegs in my esteem of him after this little stunt of his. I hadn't seen any tears from Erza yet but I had no doubt that Jellal was the only guy in the world who could get a woman as strong as Erza to cry over him. If he didn't call her soon I think we'd probably end up watching Levy's copy of _The Notebook _and bitching about how all men were selfish, arrogant pigs and nothing like Noah in the film.

Was it bad that Erza's problems were distracting me from mine?

I hit lap forty-four and decided to take it up a notch. I still hadn't faced the issue of what exactly had happened between Gray-sama and me last night. Probably because I had no clue where to even start. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and concentrated on timing my breaths right. Here, under the water, there were no complications and everything made sense.

* * *

><p>I woke up feeling slightly disorientated, in a bed that wasn't mine. Not a completely unfamiliar feeling. I blinked at the ceiling and slowly figured out what had happened last night. I'd danced a lot and drank even more. Partly because I'd forced myself to take a shot every time I caught myself looking for or thinking about Juvia.<p>

Every time Lyon mentioned 'his angel' and I thought of how her legs looked in that dress.

Shot.

Every time a flash of blue at the corner of my eye had me twisting my head around to see who it was.

Shot.

When Meredy and Millianna told me they hadn't seen her in awhile and asked if I knew where she was.

Three shots.

It'd been a lot of shots.

I felt pretty rough this morning but it was self-inflicted so I didn't expect any sympathy. No one told me to suddenly decide to take an interest in that hot mess. It was only Juvia. I hoped that by Monday she would have worked her way out of my system. As it was, there was only one thing that had successfully kept her off my mind. I rolled over but my searching hand only met soft sheets. The bed wasn't even warm any more. It was unusual for me to still be in bed when the girl wasn't but with this girl I didn't mind. I knew she wouldn't get any weird ideas. I climbed out of bed and went to go find her.

There was no need to search. I knew where she'd be. I pulled on some clothes and snuck down the hall past her parents' bedroom. I didn't really need to. They were the kind of cool parents who didn't seem to freak out about things. I'd bumped into her dad in the kitchen, early one morning last year and had expected the whole 'what are your intentions with my daughter' chat. Instead we'd ended up talking football scores. The only reference he made to knowing what I was doing in his house at that ridiculously early hour was a throw away question as I walked away.

_"Oh and Gray?"_

_"Yeah?" I turned at the door to the kitchen, not quite believing I'd gotten off without a grilling from her father._

_"Are you two being safe?"_

_Shit! He knew. He definitely knew. He sure as hell wasn't asking if we wore seatbelts every time we got in a car together. Lie! Lie now! I opened my mouth, all ready to act innocent and spill some story about a project due Tuesday. Panic making me forget that she went to an all girl school and that an excuse involving school work would be beyond unbelievable. But he'd look me square in the eye with an expression that said clear as day 'don't bullshit me'. So I swallowed the lie and simply nodded._

_"Every time?"_

_"Every time."_

_"Good. Unless you're planning to put a ring on my little girl, keep it that way." He snapped his newspaper open and went back to reading the round-up of weekly sports scores. And I escaped with a burning red face but otherwise intact._

Julian and Grace would go mental if I brought a girl home. I was sure of it but what they didn't know couldn't hurt them and if they wondered where I disappeared to on weekends they didn't ask and I wasn't telling. I made my way downstairs and opened the door to the basement. Immediately the soft strains of an orchestra came drifting out. I closed the door swiftly behind me and quietly walked down the narrow stairs. I peeked around the corner and there Enno was. Dancing with her at a party was one thing but watching her perform was quite another. I was far from an expert yet even I knew raw talent when I saw it. She was amazing. I stood there for awhile watching her execute flawless turn after flawless turn and wondered how anyone could doubt that dance was a form of art.

The music stopped and Enno slid to the floor in an effortless split. "Morning Gray."

"Hey, new routine? It looks amazing."

Enno pulled a face at me, "I upped the difficulty for my next audition but I keep missing the timing for the attitude into the fouette."

"The attitude into the fouette," I nodded sagely like I understood any of that and she laughed.

"I'm speaking dance. Sorry."

"It's okay." I liked Enno a lot. She was beautiful, sweet, a great flirt, a better kisser and the complete opposite of clingy. Best of all she was already in a committed relationship. I don't mean with another guy. I'd already learned the hard way that messing with a girl that has a boyfriend was a bad idea. I definitely was not going there again. No, Enno was in love with training, with expensive pointe shoes, with pushing her body to its limits and sometimes beyond them. She didn't have a boyfriend because dance was her relationship. Which suited me fine. If I popped in and out of her life she didn't mind because she had more important things to do than try and tie a man down. We were as close to perfect friends with benefits as anyone could hope for. I crossed the smooth wood floor and tried to steal a kiss off her but she shot me down, as expected.

"Gray, I'm stretching."

"I could help stretch you," I winked but she only rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you're insatiable. Sit. Not there. Out of my way."

I scooted back along the floor and ended up leaning against the huge mirror. To be fair, watching Enno stretch wasn't such a bad deal and I knew her well enough to not push my luck when she was this focussed. "So when is the audition?"

"Saturday. There's a dinner and drinks planned afterwards since it's the last one of the season. Want to come with me?"

"Hmm. I have to revise sometime. Don't you?"

Enno shrugged and leaned forward until her stomach was flat on the floor, her legs still in a split. How the fuck could she do that? I mean, damn.

"I only applied to one college and that's a fall back plan if I don't get accepted into a professional company. Dancing_is_ my revision."

"You'll get accepted. They'd be crazy not to want you."

"Thanks. I sure hope so. What about you? I feel like we haven't talked in ages."

It had been a few months. We chatted for a while about what we'd been up to and our plans for the future. Back in freshman year it'd felt like high school would never end yet here we were, a scant few months away from walking out of our respective schools and never looking back. Everything was going fine and I'd managed to forget about last night until Enno dropped a bombshell on me.

"So... that girl last night. Was she your ex?" She had one hand resting lightly on the barre bar for balance while she rose up onto her toes and then back down. Her eyes briefly met mine in the mirror.

"My _what?_" I didn't have any ex-girlfriends. I'd never had a girlfriend, period, and the fact that Juvia had been mistaken for one grated on my nerves but was also so ironic I couldn't help laughing.

"Well she didn't act like the other girls."

That stopped me laughing. "What other girls?"

"You know, the girls you've slept with."

"Wait, what?" I did not like where this conversation was heading.

"Gray, you're not exactly monogamous. It's an all girl school. Girls talk."

"You talk about me?"

"I don't. But the others do."

I wasn't sure what to feel about that. I always thought girls didn't kiss and tell. The idea of an entire classroom of girls discussing... Discussing what? How I was in bed? Comparing me to other guys? Did girls do things like that? I assumed they talked about make-up or fashion or relationships, but on an emotional level. More 'he never listens to me' moaning than 'he rocked my world' bragging. Of those two categories there was only one the girls I'd been with could talk about. "What do they say?"

"Secret." A flirty smile played across her face.

"Oh come on. You can't say something like that and then leave it there." I was curious now.

"Anyway, so that girl isn't your ex?"

"You can't change the subject."

"She looked really upset with you. Who is she?"

Apparently the subject had changed and was not going back. "Juvia. She goes my school. Can we please not talk about her?" Images of last night were floating back to me, not entirely unpleasant but certainly unwelcome.

"Ah, she is an ex then."

"No. I just don't...ugh fine. What about her?"

"Is something going on between you and her?"

"God no. She likes me, I don't like her."

Enno frowned, "You're not messing her around right? That's mean."

"Believe me. I've done absolutely everything I can think of to put her off but nothing works."

Her expression cleared. "That's alright then. You randomly kissed me yesterday so I thought maybe I was in the right place, at the right time to make her jealous or something. I like that what we have isn't complicated. I don't want to be used in some weird love triangle thing."

My conscience prickled. I had kind of used Enno to distract me from Juvia. The desire I'd felt to be back in bed with her faded a little. It was okay when we hooked up because it was what we both wanted but she had literally been who I'd seen first and I'd grabbed onto her like a drowning man. She was one of the few girls I'd slept with who I actually considered a friend and I didn't want to take what we had for granted. "It wasn't like that," I said carefully and resolved myself not to treat Enno like an easy booty call.

Enno crossed the floor in more of those turns, these ones lazy and slow, more for fun than part of her practice and leaned down to kiss me. I couldn't resist placing my hands on her waist and pulling her down onto my lap. She settled there, warm and soft, almost instantly making my resolve waver. "I'm going to take a shower, want to join me?"

It was tempting, real tempting. My fingers skimmed along her exposed collarbone. I wanted to peel this leotard right off of her. "Your parents will be up soon."

"Oh, didn't I tell you? It's their anniversary. They went to Crocus for the weekend. We have the house to-"

That was all I needed to know. I stood up, sweeping Enno along with me and making her sentence cut off with laughter. I'd never think of her as easy or just another girl, and as long as she kept the same sweet personality I'd always be attracted to her. "We can shower later. I definitely think you haven't been stretched anywhere near enough."

* * *

><p>I stood in the shower letting the warm water rinse off the chlorine from the pool. I felt down. I kept trying to force myself to think I hadn't been upset with Gray but the truth was I had been. He'd played with me. There was no other way to think of it. And that made me depressed. What was I supposed to do when the person who stopped the rain was threatening to start a new downpour? The water hitting my skin started to remind me of bad memories and the skin on my fingers was getting wrinkly so I quickly finished and got out. In the locker room, I was trying to comb out the tangled mess of my hair when my phone started ringing. "Hello?"<p>

"Hey, are you coming back to mine any time soon?"

Cana. "Juvia was thinking about it."

"Great. Can you bring some more ice cream? We're definitely going to be watching _The Notebook."_

"Jellal didn't call Erza?"

"Nope. She's putting on a brave face but I can tell she's super down about it. I feel really bad since it's kind of my fault."

"Cana-san, Juvia doesn't think you have anything to do with it."

"It kind of is. Lucy and I really pushed her to confess to him. We both thought it was a done deal. You know they already act all loved up so we figured it was only putting an official label on what they already were. Apparently not. I don't know what his problem is but I'm going to annihilate him at school tomorrow. Stupid boy."

I could practically feel the waves of anger coming off Cana. Scary. "Cana, can I ask you a question?"

"I think you just did."

"Ano ne..."

"I'm kidding Juvia. What is it?"

My finger traced a path down the fogged up mirror, "It's about Gray-sama."

"For goodness sake. As I've said a billion times, stop trying so hard! If you gave him two seconds to breathe maybe he'd change his mind about you. You're smothering him with-"

"Cana," It was rude to interrupt but honestly, I'd heard that particular lecture so often I more or less had it memorised, "Juvia saw this girl with Gray-sama last night."

Cana snorted, "Nothing new about that."

I gave a brief description of the girl from last night, "Do you know her? Juvia never saw her before." It bugged me that they seemed so familiar with each other. Even Gray didn't just walk up to random girls and start frenching them.

"Sounds like Enno. I met her once or twice. She's like his favourite or something."

My finger froze right in the middle of adding my name under Gray-sama's in the heart I'd drawn on the mirror.

"Juvia? Hello? Hello? Okay, why do I get the impression that you're doing that scary thing you do when you think you've found a new love rival? Honestly, Enno's really nice. She's not a whore or a bitch like most of them. Juvia?"

"Favourite?" Cana had _not _just used that word in a sentence involving _my _Gray-sama and a girl who _wasn't_ me. Why the fuck hadn't I found out about this sooner?

"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything..."

"No, Juvia wants to know." I ground the words out between clenched teeth.

"Well, okay." Cana's hesitation was clear but when I didn't say anything she filled the silence. "They hang out a lot, in a platonic way. She's not like his usual one night stands. They're friends who happen to sleep together once in awhile. Enno's probably the closest thing Gray's ever had to a proper girlfriend."

A long pause stretched on.

"Juvia understands."

"Oh god. Why do you sound like a soulless robot? Please don't do anything reckless. I don't want to be an accomplice to murder. I know what you were like with Lucy and that was only a stupid misunderstanding."

Reckless? Me? Never.

Murder? Now that was a definite maybe.

This Enno bitch had just had herself bumped up to love rival numero uno and that was not something I could let slide. "Do you know where this skank, Juvia means girl, lives?"

"Okay, no. Just NO! Don't even think about it. The only thing you're doing today is helping to cheer Erza up. Go on your little personal vendetta on Monday. Actually, don't go on it at all! Enno's never done anything to you. And no, before you ask, I will not tell you where she lives. You need to calm yourself the fuck down alright? I can practically feel that creepy aura thing over the phone."

I wiped my hand across the mirror, obliterating the love heart along with the steam. My face did look a little scary. Nothing pissed me off more than thinking a girl was more than an easy lay to Gray-sama. I couldn't do anything about his crush on Lyon. Boys love was a little beyond me but a favourite girl? Oh. Hell. No. I breathed in deeply, trying to find some balance within my inner turmoil. I took my eyes off Gray-sama for one night because of some stupid sad feeling and look what happened. I wasn't about to lose to anyone, never mind some slut who appeared out of nowhere and tried to upstage me. "Juvia will bring some ice cream over."

Cana sighed with obvious relief but my expression in the mirror never wavered. I'd been rejected by Gray-sama enough to know how much it hurt so I'd give this day to Erza and my friends. But Monday? Personal vendetta wasn't even the half of it. We'd see exactly who was whose favourite.

* * *

><p>Mondays are no one's favourite day but this morning I was feeling pretty damn good. Other than the time we'd spent in her bed and the equally amazing hour spent in the shower exploring just how flexible Enno was, Sunday had been filled with nothing but pure simplicity. We'd chilled in front of the TV, watching football. By 'we' I mean I watched the game while she painted her nails and flipped through a glossy magazine. That was cool though because I didn't have to explain any of the rules while she faked an interest in a sport she really didn't give a damn about and as an added bonus, she didn't seem to mind my hands wandering under her shirt during every commercial. She was so uncomplicated and non-stressful to be around. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I didn't hang out with her more. I whistled as I walked down the hall and entered my homeroom right on time to hear Jellal moan, "Fuck. I swear I haven't done anything. Maybe it was Gray?"<p>

Not ready to take the fall for something that would probably mean getting my ass kicked by Erza I instantly denied it. "Not me, man. I spent all weekend banging this awesome girl from Mermaid Heel. Seriously, chicks from all girl schools are the best." I had a rock solid alibi so I relaxed and tried to find out what was going on. It wasn't hard to figure out from the conversation that the girls were seriously pissed off. Natsu was whining like a bitch about Lucy not sleeping with him because Jellal had fucked something up. I kind of felt bad for him when Gajeel confirmed it was Erza who was angry. She was fucking scary on a good day, never mind if she was in a bad mood. I didn't worry about it though. Jellal and Erza hardly ever fought. I guess they knew each other so well that it wasn't hard for them to see each other's point of view even when they disagreed on things.

Scorpio-sensei walked in, dead on half past eight, and tried to get us all to shut up. A few half hearted detention threats later and everyone finally settled down. The scattering of empty seats didn't go unnoticed. "We seem to be missing a few students this morning," he said as he set the register down on his desk. It was highly unusual for any of the girls to be late but here it was, 8.35 and...

The girls did not walk into the room. They _arrived _like a sudden downpour on a previously sunny day. I swear down the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. It's a wonder Jellal didn't drop dead from all the evil stares he got. Whatever he'd done, a simple apology was clearly not going to cut it.

"How nice of you to join us, ladies. Can we try to be on time? You're all final year students and are preparing to become productive members of society..."

Ah, sensei's typical act your age, not your shoe size lecture. I don't think anyone was listening. Everyone seemed pretty caught up in the soap opera occurring in the middle of the room. Erza was ignoring Jellal. Flat out blanking him. Not even a hello for her best friend. Poor guy. He looked horrified. The whole thing was very interesting and slightly funny. I leaned back in my chair, curious as to how this would all pan out. It always fascinated me how Jellal could take Erza from moody to laughing seemingly without effort. It would have been a handy trick to know for when Natsu and I pissed her off with our constant bickering but Jellal was the only person I'd ever seen do it.

Homeroom dragged on through announcements about exam timetables and revision sessions. I really needed to start revising or I could kiss college goodbye. Of course that thought lasted for only ten seconds before I moved on to wondering what Enno was doing tonight. Probably practising. The sharp tone of the bell cut through the air and snapped me out of a damn good daydream about more shower sex with Enno. Normally when the bell rang, especially on a Monday, everyone went back to discussing all the crazy things that'd happened over the weekend. It might have been me, but it felt like all the conversations were subdued, everyone hopeful for some new ground breaking gossip. It was stupid. Everyone got all hyped up if someone confessed and got rejected or got mega drunk and stripped on a table at some random party but that was nothing compared to when a long standing couple broke up. Trouble in paradise? People loved all that angst and drama. Some couples were infamous for breaking up and making up but Jellal and Erza were infamous for denying being a couple when all evidence pointed towards contrary. They were the most obvious of high school sweethearts. As usual there was no point in anyone holding their breath. Into the semi-quietness Jellal said, "You're hair looks pretty like that." Erza blushed, one hand subconsciously reaching up to touch one of the soft curls she must have spent at least an extra hour doing this morning, and the whole thing was over. Normality achieved in typical anti-climatic fashion. Jellal was a lucky bastard to have a girl like Erza wrapped around his little finger. She couldn't even stay mad at him for the twenty minutes of homeroom.

I followed them out of the classroom and headed for my locker. I think Juvia had been really upset at the start of the year to find out she wasn't in the same homeroom as the rest of us but no amount of begging or pleading could convince the teachers to swap her with anyone. So she'd done the next best thing and begged or bribed different students until she got the locker next to mine. That's where she met me, every morning almost like clockwork. I pulled my maths textbook out of my locker and hesitated. I had everything I needed for first period. I could walk away. Juvia met me here, if she was lucky. I never fucking _waited_ for her but for some reason I lingered, casually re-arranging my other books into organised chaos instead of just random mess. Alright, I'll admit it. I wanted to know if I'd been cured of my Juvia-is-pretty-ism or not. So I waited while crowds of students moved behind me and feigned interest in smoothing out the bent pages in my beaten up copy of _Romeo & Juliet. _

"Gray-sama."

I jumped. For all my curiosity, Juvia had still managed to sneak up on me. I took a deep breath and nonchalantly turned around.

Fuck.

* * *

><p>I'd been one hundred and ten percent ready to accost Gray-sama about this 'favourite' whore of his but my prepared speech died on my lips. He was looking at me. The same way he had at Risley's party. Like I was something he wanted to devour. It hadn't been a one off moment or a fluke. This was unmistakable. There was something about me that he liked. A lot. My face flushed and my heart pounded that little bit harder. With all that was going on in the crowded hallway it still felt like it was just the two of us standing here. I tried again with a much gentler tone, "Gray-sama-"<p>

The door to the student council room swung open and slammed shut with enough force that a nearby locker opened and a landslide of books, papers and pens fell out. Erza. An extremely angry Erza. "Go to class!" She barked. She did not have to say it twice. The hallway emptied out in record time, kids tripping all over each other in their desperation to get out of her way. Gray-sama suddenly decided to re-tie a shoelace that definitely was already tied and I found my timetable fascinating despite the fact that it hadn't changed since the Easter break. Erza stomped down the hall, leaving nothing but curious onlookers and grateful survivors in her wake.

Okay...? I guess her first meeting with Jellal post-confessing had _not_ gone well.

* * *

><p>Erza's temper tantrum notwithstanding, I was having major deja vu. Here I was, yet again, eye level with Juvia's flawless legs. She was still hot as hell to me. Absolutely nothing had changed since Saturday. She shifted her weight to one hip and the grey folds of her school skirt swished across her thighs. I knew without a doubt two things right then.<p>

Firstly, I'd never be able to see her as a plain, no consequence girl ever again.

Secondly, I was fucked. Royally fucked.

I'd spent nearly the entire weekend in bed with a great girl, who I could probably easily see again without any hassle yet here I was, literally speechless and on my knees, in front of a girl who'd take one night of meaningless fun and twist it into a declaration of undying love.

Irony was a bitch.

There was only one thing to do. I'd have to act like nothing had changed. I absolutely could not get involved with Juvia in any way. She'd take any sign of encouragement completely the wrong way and I'd never get rid of her. The gears in my brain went into overdrive, trying to formulate a way out of this awkward situation.

Alright, starting now, I had to stop acting so obviously awestruck every time I saw her. At the same time I had to make sure she didn't suspect that I was mentally undressing her.

* * *

><p>He was undressing me with his eyes and it was <em>so <em>obvious. My whole face flared even redder than before. I was tongue-tied and couldn't think of anything sweet or flirty to say. I'd been so far off his radar for so long that now I was completely unprepared for the change in our relationship. I sent a silent thank you to the shop assistant who'd insisted to me that the blue dress wasn't too short. I owed her a lot. Gray-sama finally saw me as a girl!

He stood up, "Have you got a felt tip pen?"

_Huh? _I'd almost expected him to grab my hands and confess that he loved me like in one of my daydreams but I guess that was too far-fetched. "Juvia thinks so." I dug through my bag and pulled a blue pen from my pencil case. Gray took the pen, then my hand and started writing down numbers.

I almost fainted. I already had Gray-sama's number but I hadn't gotten it from him and, despite what the girls said about me being shameless, I wasn't about to be constantly calling and texting him when he clearly didn't want me to. But now I was getting full permission! Lucky! This had to be the best day of my life. I'd have to mark it down on my calendar so I wouldn't forget our anniversary. Ah, I could see it already. Gray-sama and I, a year from now at college. He'd buy flowers, and I'd cook all his favourite foods, and we'd laugh about our high school days from before he realised I was perfect for him in every way. It'd be wonderful. Gray-sama finished writing and tucked the pen back into my bag. I admired his handiwork, already determined to keep the number there as long as-

"This isn't Gray-sama's number." I recognised the differences immediately.

"Well obviously. Why would I do something stupid like that?" He gave me a cool look and none of the heat I'd seen in his eyes before was there. "It's Lyon's. He thinks you're hot, for some bizarre reason, and wants you to call him."

My little fantasy had moved on to playing Gray-sama's incredibly sweet marriage proposal in the back of my mind. In an instant, the image froze and shattered into a million pieces. "Lyon's number? But Juvia doesn't like him. Why can't Juvia have Gray-sama's number?"

"Because I don't want you annoying me any more than you already do." He closed his locker and started walking away from me.

The situation was far too much like Saturday for my liking. My Gray-sama was turning into a total tsundere. One moment he was checking me out, then he cast me aside again. What the hell was going on? I frowned, "Is this about Lyon? Or that girl? Because Juvia won't lose to any stupid love rival! Juvia will be Gray-sama's favourite for sure."

* * *

><p>Juvia was talking nonsense again. All that love rival crap that made no sense to anyone but her. I ignored her and kept heading down the hall. I needed some space and time away from this girl to adjust to the new way she looked and make sure I had defences in place so I didn't do anything stupid. Like check her out, or try to steal a kiss, or insinuate in any way that I wanted her. I let out a short, sharp breath. How had this happened to me? It was irrational but I decide to blame Lyon. It was his obsession with Juvia's legs that'd got me all twisted up and confused. I was musing over how I could get him back for shoving Juvia on me when the door to the student council room opened again. "Wow. Erza's really mad, huh?"<p>

Jellal leaned against the door frame and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, "Yeah."

"You look like hell."

"Mmm." He held one hand to his stomach and I'd been on the receiving end of enough of Erza's uppercut punches to feel sympathy for him. The girl was hardcore and when she beat you up, she did it thoroughly.

"Oh I assure you, he deserves it," Cana said, coming to stand next to me, arm in arm with Juvia. "What'd you say to Erza anyway? She was already upset enough."

Jellal tried to shrug, winced and cut the movement short, "I didn't say anything. I have no clue why she's so mad."

"Are you an idiot or something? He is in idiot right Juvia?"

Juvia nodded, "Jellal-san is definitely acting stupid."

"What exactly have I done? I wish someone would just tell me."

Cana scowled at him, "Don't you have anything to say her? Any answer at all? She waited all weekend for you."

"Waiting for what? She didn't say anything important to me on Friday."

Cana's look turned murderous, "Nothing important? You are the most insensitive jerk ever! What the hell were you doing all weekend anyway?"

"Chill out. Why are _you _mad? I went to the dojo on Saturday and then the astronomy club asked for my help on Sunday. I was busy. Erza could have called me if she wanted something."

Cana's mouth fell open, "I'm speechless. Literally speechless." She clearly wasn't but whatever. "You wasted all weekend fighting one bunch of stupid sweaty guys, then went stargazing with a different bunch of stupid nerdy guys? You couldn't give Erza five fucking minutes of your time?"

"Bros before hoes," I said, expecting a fist bump from Jellal but his eyes only darted from mine to Cana's and I realised a second too late that a statement like that in this situation was an epic mistake.

Cana rounded on me, "What'd you just call us?"

"Uh, not you specifically! I meant girls in general and stuff..."

"So we're all hoes now? Just because you run around with a bunch of easy skanks does not give you permission to put down an entire gender. What the fuck is your problem?"

"It's a saying..." I mumbled but Cana was on a roll now.

"Don't think we don't get what's going on here. You," she jabbed a finger into Jellal's chest and he swayed unsteadily, "Are an idiot and a coward! There is no excuse for your disgusting behaviour. Better watch your back because you're on my black list starting now. So help me, if Erza hadn't already beat your ass, I sure as well would have! And you," she grabbed my shirt and shook me, "Have serious maturity issues. Not only can you not even get a girlfriend but you're so immature you treat the one you actually like as if you're both ten!"

"I what?" Me and my big mouth. Why didn't I just shut up? Cana's eyes burned and she took a deep breath. I braced myself for a tongue lashing but what she said was so fucking ridiculous...

* * *

><p>I thought Cana was being a little too harsh, especially towards Gray-sama. I thought Jellal kind of deserved it though. He was completely ignoring Erza's feelings when she'd gone through the trouble of confessing to him. Best friends or not, that was a low blow. Cana had her arm looped with mine but she pulled away and shoved me forward. Surprised, I managed to throw my arms out but I still ended up pressed against Gray-sama chest.<p>

"You know who I'm talking about!" Cana said. "You want to hear another 'saying'. I'll give you a good one. _Treat them mean to keep them keen. _News flash! You're fucking overdoing the whole 'I hate you' thing! You act like you're such a baller but the truth is, you fucking love having Juvia trailing after you and it's not just because it strokes your already overinflated ego. You're like an immature little boy on the playground teasing the girl you like because you can't admit how you really feel. It's pathetic! Grow a pair and man up!"

_What? _Really? Now that I thought about it, Gray-sama was extra mean to me for no good reason. Was that to hide how he really felt about me? I'd never considered it before but that made perfect sense. "Gray-sama!"

"No way! Don't look at me like that! I can see fucking love hearts! I _do not _like you!" Is what he said but his face was turning red. So cute!

I beamed up at him, "It's okay Gray-sama. Juvia understands everything and will wait until Gray-sama is ready to admit it."

"Let's go Juvia. These two are a waste of space." Cana took my arm again and dragged me down the hall. I twisted around and waved excitedly at Gray-sama. He stood there looking shell-shocked but I couldn't have been happier. All the confusion and anger of the weekend faded away. This Enno 'favourite' love rival bitch could kiss my ass. Gray-sama liked me!

Hell yeah!


	6. Mean Girls (Part I)

_A/N: 'Storm in a teacup' is a saying for when something small has been exaggerated out of proportion. Kind of like the saying 'a mountain out of a molehill', if that makes more sense. Nieve is Spanish for snow (like Lluvia aka Juvia is Spanish for rain). _

_This chapter was getting way too long so I've split it (not in half, but in the place I thought was best). The actual 'mean girls' from the title don't appear until Part 2. So if I wrote a reply to your review about character development, then the moment you're most looking forward to isn't in this chapter. Gomenasai! Please wait for the next chapter. I promise it will be published super quick. _

_I do not own Fairy Tail._

_Chapter Five - Mean Girls (Part 1)_

I was officially on cloud nine. I felt like skipping down the hall and probably would have if Cana hadn't been hauling on my arm so hard. We made our way down the hall, Cana grumbling under her breath the whole way. A few steps from our first class, World History, she noticed my great mood.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Juvia is so happy. Gray-sama likes me!"

She forced me to stop walking, her expression serious. "Juvia, look, don't take what I said to heart. Gray does act like an idiot around you but the truth is, I was angry and said all that to annoy him. I didn't mean to get your hopes up. Sorry, I should have thought about your feelings before I spoke."

"But you said..."

"Yeah, I know. I do think he likes you more than he admits but Gray is still Gray. He's not going to suddenly become your dream boyfriend and whisk you away on his white horse to live happily ever after. Especially if you keep acting like such a..."

"A what?"

"Never mind. Point is, you could wait forever and he wouldn't change. He's not cut out for serious relationships so don't get too excited."

I bit my lip. Some of the exuberance I'd been feeling trickled away, even as butterflies continued to float around in my stomach. "This weekend..." Cana looked at me expectantly but I hesitated. She'd probably say I was overreacting, or imagining things. What had happened on Saturday night had been so far from the usual even I felt like it might have only been a hazy dream. Still I couldn't help but want to continuing believing that those moments on the balcony had meant something. It probably wasn't her intention to rain on my parade yet that was exactly what would happen if I told Cana I thought Gray-sama really did like me a little. So I held my tongue and simply nodded instead.

During class, I put on my best attentive face and thankfully, the teacher never called on me. She no doubt thought I was busy writing revision notes on the mottled past of the various royal dynasties. Instead my notebook was covered with love hearts and my favourite phrase, _Mrs. Juvia Fullbuster. _The other girls couldn't understand the way I felt about Gray-sama. Sometimes I think they thought it was just a schoolgirl crush. I knew better. I'd never felt this way about any other guy before and I was willing to overlook so many of the negative aspects of my relationship with Gray-sama because I loved him.

After the disaster that was my first relationship, and the massive fallout triggered by that bad breakup, I'd moved on with my life and dated other guys. To be fair, those other relationships were doomed to fail from the start because my heart was never truly in it. I'd always put up that invisible shield, a protective wall around my heart that made sure I didn't get hurt again but also never let anyone too close. A shield that expanded to everyone except Gajeel-kun and even with him I'd only ever been myself when we were alone.

Oak Town High and Phantom Lord had been a perfect fit for the old me, my reputation just another layer to keep people at bay. Truth be told, what I'd thought of as a shield, had been nothing more than a hiding place. From my past, my parents, my feelings, my real self. To everyone else I probably seemed really bad ass but I'd been nothing more than a coward, hiding behind a mask of cold indifference. Putting my heart out there, knowing it could be broken, was ten times braver than any of the fights I'd been in with my old gang.

I sighed. It'd been over a year since I walked away from that life. I'd changed so much, made so much progress. That girl standing in the February snow last year was unrecognizable from the me of today. Still, I didn't hate my old self. After all, when offered a way out by a complete stranger on that freezing cold day, she'd made the absolute right decision. I could remember how it felt, shivering in that dark driveway with Gajeel-kun, feeling surprised that this tiny man wasn't intimidated by us at all.

_"You've got two choices. You can carry on with what you're doing, I'll call the police and the two of you can stay on the path you're on which will end with you either dead or in prison wondering when exactly you threw your life away. Or... You can come in from the cold, I'll make us some hot chocolate and we talk about how we can get you out of this mess you made for yourselves and maybe make something of your life instead."_

We chose the hot chocolate.

I think it was a definite case of right place, right time _and _right person. Gajeel-kun and I were tired of that life, of the hustle, of the fighting, and Makarov-sensei was so down to earth and no nonsense. He didn't treat us like lost causes. He saw something in us no one else did but he didn't take crap from us either. It took a lot of time and effort and it could have backfired in a real bad way but by the time he'd put us through summer school we'd had enough of our rough edges smoothed over that we could blend in with the other kids like normal transfer students. And then of course, Gray-sama had taken a sledgehammer to the wall around my heart and my life would never be the same.

"Juvia!"

I jumped, "Yes!"

Cana was staring down at me, "What are you doing? The bell went like ten hours ago."

I could hardly say I was reminiscing about the time Makarov-sensei caught Gajeel-kun and I trying to hotwire his car in the middle of a snow storm so I mumbled a hasty apology, collected my things and walked with her to our next class.

* * *

><p><em>...You fucking love having Juvia trailing after you...<em>

_...Teasing the girl you like..._

_...You can't admit how you really feel..._

_...Grow a pair and man up!_

I added another angry stoke of black to the canvas. Cana's words kept spinning around and around in my head. She was wrong of course, extremely wrong. I didn't like Juvia. I couldn't think of any girl I liked _less _than Juvia. I'll admit being attracted to her but Cana made it seem like Juvia was my secret crush of something. No fucking way! I dipped the brush into the cup of water with enough force that I nearly spilled the entire thing.

"Gray..." a timid voice said from the other side of the canvas. I leaned around to see who it was, not bothering to hide my scowl. The girl's eyes went wide, "S-s-sorry!" I forced out a sharp breath and fixed my face. I'd been in an mood all day because of Cana and it was spilling over into my every interaction. I don't know why I couldn't just shrug her stupid opinion off. "What's up Katja?"

"Nothing. Sorry."

I'd scared her. Katja was an incredibly shy freshman. When she joined the art club she'd scarcely said a word to anyone. I'd kind of taken to her. I guess her blue hair and brown eyes reminded me of Wendy and it was hard to dislike a kid that was so kind-hearted and sweet. "No, it's fine. You need some help?"

She nodded, "Can I see yours? I don't even know where to start."

This afternoon, by some quirky twist of fate, the theme we'd chosen was 'strong emotion'. I hadn't even had to search for inspiration, there were plenty of things for me to use in my art. I waved her over and she came to stand next to me.

"Wow. It's amazing."

I relaxed on the stool and had a good look at what I'd created. The edges were still nothing more than the rough sketching but the focus of the canvas was more or less done. A giant teacup took up most of the space. Inside the teacup, an ocean of tea swirled around into a mini whirlpool and a tiny boat complete with two sailors fought to stay afloat. The background was black storm clouds, flashes of lighting and I was contemplating how to add in the illusion of rain.

"Thanks. It's called A Storm in A Teacup."

"It feels really angry and kind of desperate. I wish I could get emotion into my art like that."

Angry and desperate. Why couldn't I get Cana's words out of my head? They were stupid, nothing comments. I shouldn't care about them yet here I was, sitting in the club room, a full eight hours later, still fuming mad. "Let me see what you got."

Katja blushed but flipped her sketchbook open. A rough sketch of a kids bedroom with all the toys hanging out together, kind of like a scene out of Toy Story, with one lonely teddy in the foreground. The teddy had a band aid plastered over where it's heart would be. "I thought I might do loneliness," she said.

Poor kid. I knew she was finding it hard to make friends. "That's a great idea Katja. I can feel plenty of emotion in this. Are you going to use watercolours? It'd be more dramatic if the toys in the back were in bright colours and the bear was faded."

"I was going to use oil pencils and leave the bear black and white... or greyscale..."

"Perfect. You can blend the colours out too. Ask Reedus to show you, if you need help. He's the best at that, well at everything."

Katja shook her head, "Reedus is the best at drawing but I think Gray does the best sculptures."

She was so earnest and forthright, I couldn't help but smile. It was more or less true. Reedus slayed everyone when it came to most art techniques. Oil, acrylic, pencil, every canvas he touched turned into a masterpiece. We hadn't even done our exams and he'd already received full scholarship offers from three different colleges. I had no doubt people would be willing to pay big money for his artwork some day. Hopefully, one day they'd do the same for mine. At least I didn't have to worry about having Reedus for competition. Our favourite mediums were completely different. I practised sketching, painting and all the other traditional art methods but Katja was right. Sculpting was my real passion and what I was best at. It made me feel closer to... someone I still missed every day. "I'll help you get started," I told Katja, hoping it'd help me relax.

* * *

><p>I couldn't relax. Gray-sama had been avoiding me all day, even more than usual. I wanted to talk to him so badly. I'd had plenty of time to re-evaluate exactly what happened on the weekend and I thought I had the gist of it. Gray-sama liked me, even though he expressed it in a really weird way. I just had to convert more of his meanness into flirting. Then, instead of it exploding in my face like when he'd walked away with that Enno bitch, I had to find a way to keep him interested in me. I was so close to getting him, I could practically taste it.<p>

I sat on the steps, waiting for Gray-sama to come out of the art room. I used to watch him paint but apparently I was a 'distraction' to everyone and they kicked me out. At least it guaranteed me an uninterrupted hour of homework or revision time every week. So I flicked through my Biology notes and tried to convince myself that Krebs cycle was more interesting than thinking up a plan to entrap Gray-sama.

* * *

><p>She caught me. I'd been semi-successful at avoiding Juvia all day, knowing that she'd taken Cana's words to heart but she glued herself to my side the moment I stepped out of the art room. "Gray-sama, let's study together!"<p>

"Let's not."

"Oh Gray-sama, you don't have to act anymore. Juvia understands," she said with a smile and a wink.

I couldn't even begin to put my frustration at her actions into words. Juvia hung onto me all the way to the school gates. She had my arm wedged right against her breasts. Fucking hell. I didn't know how to react. If I was mean to her, Juvia would think I secretly liked her. If I was nice to her, Juvia would still think I liked her...

I was going to murder Cana in her sleep.

Juvia was so caught up in talking to me about revision timetables and the cookies she was planning on baking for me and blah, blah, blah I think she would have walked right into a wall, if not for me watching where we were going. So I don't think she noticed Erza and a girl wearing the Mermaid Heel uniform talking by the gates. I noticed because the girl was hot. "Hey," I called out as we got closer, "Who's this?"

The girl turned towards me and her blank expression turned into the tiniest of frowns before returning to neutral. "This is-" said Erza but the girl cut her short.

"Fullbuster. Do me a favour and keep out of my school."

I laughed, "I've never been in your school. The uniform would look ridiculous on me." I studied her face. She knew my name but I didn't know hers. Her dark hair and hazel eyes did seem a little familiar but I couldn't place her.

She didn't so much as smile, "Keep away from the girls at my school. You're a distraction and an annoyance."

"Funny. That's not what they say."

"Are you an actual idiot? Or are you just trying to irritate me?"

Juvia's grip on my arm tightened, "Gray-sama is not an idiot!"

The girl's eyes flicked from my face to Juvia's. "You're obviously one of his pathetic groupies therefore your opinion is invalid."

Juvia opened her mouth again but I shushed her. "Look princess, I don't know you and whatever you think you know about me is clearly second-hand. Maybe I should take you out, show you a good time, I'm sure your opinion will change."

Her eyes flashed and Erza decided to intervene. "This is Kagura, the student council president from Mermaid Heel."

Ah, that explained a few things. It wasn't unusual for the council members of different schools to have meetings together once in a while and it also made clear why she felt it was her right to demand I stay out of 'her' school. "You look kind of familiar."

"It's Kagura," Erza repeated but she must have noticed the blank look on my face because after a heartbeat she added, "_Mikazuchi."_

Mikazuchi, as in Simon's little sister. We'd all gone to the same primary school together. I had vague memories of a whiny five year old obsessively clinging to her brother. "Well damn princess. You sure grew up well."

"And you never grew up at all," she said coolly.

I took a moment to check her out again. She must be what, sixteen now? I didn't bother hiding what I was doing and she snapped, "Stop that!"

"Gray." Erza said, a warning.

"Gray-sama..." Juvia said, looking reproachfully at me.

Man, what was it with the women in my life? The sound of running footsteps made us all look back towards the school. Jellal joined our impromptu reunion, bending over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "Erza, why didn't you wait for me? I said I'd walk you home," he complained.

His lip was still swollen from the beating he'd taken from Erza earlier. I was pretty sure this was the record for the longest time Jellal and Erza had ever been in a fight. A whole day. They were usually all over each other within five minutes of an argument. He'd really fucked up but none of us guys knew how and the girls weren't telling. He was officially screwed until Erza calmed down.

"I don't need you to walk me home."

"Obviously, but I said I would. We need to talk."

"So _now _you want to talk? Well too bad. I'm going home with Juvia."

* * *

><p>"Eh?" From being dragged away by Cana, to being dragged away by Erza. I just couldn't catch a break today.<p>

"Are you two fighting?" Kagura asked. I'd already decided that I did not like her and was debating adding her to my list of love rivals. To me, all the mean things she said to Gray-sama had sounded like jealousy at being ignored.

"Yes," Jellal replied at the same time that Erza said, "No."

He stared at her, "What the hell Erza?"

"Don't worry Jellal. I got the message okay, so no, we are not fighting."

Jellal looked confused. Gray-sama looked confused. I was definitely confused. Kagura looked... happy? "You broke up? I have to tell my brother about this. Bye," she said with something suspiciously like a smile on her face as she walked away.

Okay, she wasn't _my _love rival but she might be Erza's. Why else would she look so happy about a fight between Erza and Jellal? "We're leaving," Erza declared, "Don't follow us." And, for the second time today, I was dragged away from a confounded Jellal and a not so shell shocked Gray-sama.

* * *

><p><em>Two days later...<em>

My plan was not working out. It was all but impossible for me to go back to treating Juvia the way I had before. Every time I saw her my eyes wandered from her eyes to her lips, from her breasts to her hips. I caught myself having thoughts about her, in and sometimes out of that blue dress, more and more often. It was pointless. There was no way I could get with her. I couldn't think of a single time I'd ever wanted a girl this much and not pursued her until I got her, especially a girl who would clearly be more than willing to hook up with me. Yet at the same time I knew Juvia would never let me off with a casual fling. So I tried being colder to her but just like I thought, Cana's words meant that the more distant I tried to be, Juvia only clung to me harder. It didn't help that Lyon was constantly texting me, demanding to know why Juvia hadn't called him yet. He thought I was intentionally keeping her away from him and every message he sent only reminded me of how she had looked on Saturday night. How she looked every damn day...

I was stuck. Literally trapped between an intense desire for her gorgeous body and an equally strong desire not to be involved with a girl who defined the term clingy. I had no clue what to do about it. So I did the one thing I knew would keep my mind off Juvia. I filled all my spare time up with other girls. Which was why I was in the back row of the cinema in town with one of the girls I'd met at that ill-fated Saturday night party. My tongue was fully occupied but for some reason my brain wouldn't switch off.

This thing I had going with Juvia was just a storm in a teacup. It'd blow over. I wouldn't keep lusting over a girl I knew I couldn't have. I couldn't keep imaging running my hands over her soft, warm thighs, sucking on her neck, slowly removing her clothes, one teasing layer at a time, sliding so deep inside her...

"What'd you just call me?"

I blinked at the girl. Why the hell weren't we still making out?

"You just called me by another girl's name."

Even the darkness, I could tell she was annoyed. "No, I didn't." Had I? I wasn't sure but I had a sinking feeling what name it might have been.

"What's my name?" She demanded and someone a few rows ahead of us said in a loud whisper "Shut up!"

"Hana. I didn't say anything. You think I don't know your name?"

"Yeah, whatever," she said and sat back in the seat with her arms crossed over her chest.

Well, there went my plans for getting any tonight.

* * *

><p>I wandered into the dorm, a few minutes after ten. I don't know what happened with Gray-sama and that girl he'd taken to the movies but she'd stormed off as soon as the ending credits hit the screen and he'd gone home alone. Unusual but I was more than happy with that. I paused by the table at the bottom of the stairs and leafed through the mail. A pale pink letter with familiar handwriting leaped out at me. I picked it up and smelled it. Apple blossom. Honestly, she wrote letters to me the same way she wrote them to her boyfriend. I'd never admit it but secretly it made me happy that she considered me worthy of the expensive stationary and the extra effort. I headed for my room, curled up on my bed and started reading.<p>

_Dear Juvia,_

_How is my favourite little sister?_

I smiled at the running joke. Nieve always started her letters that way and I always replied that her favourite and _only _little sister was fine. We were six years apart which in my eyes was perfect. Too far apart to grow up fighting over each other's clothes, yet not so far apart that we couldn't be best friends. Still, it was enough of an age gap that I'd spent most of my childhood looking up to her. When I was twelve, she'd been eighteen, beautiful, confident and everything I could ever wish to be. Everything my parents wanted me to be. Everything I'd failed to be.

I shook my head to clear that thought and went back to the letter. It was four whole pages of nothing but wedding plans. I wouldn't say she'd turned into a bridezilla over the last few months but her looming nuptials did seem to overshadow everything else in her life. As usual there were the subtle reminders that she'd decided on a style for my bridesmaid dress, that I had to come and try said dress on, that she'd also arranged for one of her fiancée's brothers to be my date if I couldn't find one and a reiteration of the wedding date which was... next year. She was definitely overexcited. I couldn't blame her though. She was marrying a great guy.

Reaching into my desk I got out the expensive stationary set she'd brought for me and started crafting a response. No, I didn't think a veil was old fashioned, yes, she'd look fabulous in pearls and, equally as subtle as her hints, I let her know that there was no way I'd be there next year. Our parents would be there so by default I wouldn't. I hadn't been in their presence since I'd walked out of the family home three years ago. They'd thought I was returning to boarding school. I hadn't known where I was going as long as it was far away from them and even further away from my ex-boyfriend. I'd been fifteen. If they wanted to they could have had the police bring me back home. But they didn't and I'd ended up with Phantom Lord instead. They were done with me and I was done with them. Not even my sister's wedding would get me anywhere near them.

I knew it was mean, and a little selfish, to let our mutual hatred spill over onto her wedding day but I couldn't back down on this. So she kept dropping hints that she wanted me there and I kept dropping hints that it wasn't going to happen. Nieve probably expected to wear me down over the next few months. As they day drew closer eventually she'd have no choice but to ask me point blank and I'd have to refuse her. She'd cry and I'd feel like a total bitch. I could only hope that she wouldn't let my absence ruin her big day.

I ran out of things to say about the pros and cons of an ivory dress over a pure white one and wrote two pages about Gray-sama instead. Then, I sat at my desk, twirling my fountain pen around and around, and wondered what Gray-sama was doing right now.

* * *

><p>I'd been staring at the same maths problem for the last five minutes. Not because I couldn't do it but because I was too distracted to try. I laid the pen down and gave up. Juvia was on my mind. I'd much rather she was in my bed but that wasn't going to happen. Not unless she had a complete personality change and fell out of love with me. The chances of that were about the same as me having a complete personality change and falling in love with her. Pigs would fly first.<p>

I got up and opened my door. The hallway was dark, the house quiet. Julian and Grace tended to go to bed early and rise early. They never noticed if I disappeared for the night as long as I was back in bed before they got up. I snuck down the stairs and out the house. I had no specific destination in mind but I wasn't surprised to end up standing outside of Enno's dance school. The buildings on either side were shrouded in darkness but light still blazed from the studio windows. I checked the time. 11.14. She told me once that she danced at least five hours a day. With school and homework, I didn't know how she managed it but if Enno was anything, she was driven.

She wasn't expecting me but I didn't have to wait long for the lights to go out and a group of five girls to descend the stairs. I was standing in the shadow of a doorway across the street. They couldn't see me and it would probably scare them if I just appeared from the darkness so I waited for them to go their separate ways. They talked for a few minutes then four of them laughed and walked away. Enno was the only one left.

She was wearing baggy sweatpants and white top that was so loose it had slid off one of her shoulders. Completely casual but I didn't mind. As I pushed off the door I was leaning against, she reached up and let her hair down from the bun it was in. "Enno," I called softly so I didn't freak her out too much. Her head whipped around and I only got a glimpse of her face before she'd thrown her arms around me. Still those few seconds were long enough for me to register the tears in her eyes.

I immediately tensed up. I'd never seen Enno cry. Ever. We weren't friends like that. We had a lot of fun and a lot of sex but anything serious just didn't factor into our relationship. I patted her back awkwardly. What the hell was I supposed to do?

"Can you take me home?"

"Sure," I said, "Did you hurt yourself or something?" I could probably deal with tears caused by a sprained ankle or some other kind of injury.

Enno pulled on the edge of my t-shirt and used it to dry her eyes. "No, I'm just being melodramatic."

I scoffed, "You? Never." I hesitated, because I didn't want to start her off crying again, then asked a loaded question, "What's wrong?"

Her only answer was a kiss. A kiss that went on and on. Her fingers played with my hair and I couldn't stop my hands running down her back, squeezing her ass, pulling her against me. "Take me home," she breathed when we finally pulled apart and I knew she wasn't telling me to walk her to her front door.

I wasn't good with touchy feely emotional crap but if I could sleep with Enno to forget Juvia then she could sleep with me to forget whatever was bothering her. "Okay."

* * *

><p>I woke up just after midnight. My letter to Nieve was spread out over my desk and I had a mark on my face from my pen. I must have fallen asleep while thinking about Gray-sama. I yawned, stretched and heard what must have woken me up. Hushed, excited semi-whispers in the hallway. Peeking out my door, I saw Cana and Erza talking. "What's going on?"<p>

"Sorry, did we wake you up?"

"It's okay," I leaned against my door and they walked over.

"There's a party at Mira-sempai's college on Saturday. I can't but do you want to go Juvia?" asked Cana.

"Mira-sempai?"

"Oh, I don't think you know her," Erza said, "she's the older sister of Elfman and Lisanna."

"Never mind that," Cana said, her excitement making her voice loud. "Erza's got a surprise for Jellal."

Erza blushed, "Quiet! This is so embarrassing. Everyone is going to know."

"Everyone already thinks you two are doing it so it hardly matters!"

"Cana! Shut the hell up!"

"Girls," Ruchio said from behind them, "It's after midnight on a school night. Go to bed."

"Yes," we all chorused, not wanting to annoy the dorm owner.

Cana and Erza left, arm in arm and I shut my door quietly. It was nice to see Erza back in good spirits. She'd been so down the last few days and it didn't suit her to be unhappy. I had wondered if she'd give up since Jellal had rejected her but of course she wouldn't. Erza never quit anything. I smiled, if she was going to keep trying for the boy she liked then I had no excuses. I wasn't going to let Gray-sama avoid me any more. He'd been so hard to tie down these last few days. It'd been like I was Peter Pan chasing my own shadow. I nodded, my mind made up. The first chance I got I was going to confront Gray-sama about Saturday night. It kept replaying in my head. The way he looked at me, the words he spoke, his hands on my skin... He couldn't almost kiss me and think I would just forget about it.

"Goodnight Gray-sama," I said blowing a kiss at the picture I had of him on my wall. I hoped he was prepared because I was coming for him one hundred and ten percent.


	7. Mean Girls (Part II)

_A/N: I ended up splitting the chapter again..._

_I do not own Fairy Tail_

_Chapter 6 - Mean Girls (Part Two)_

I lay in the darkness of Enno's room and let my hand stroke over the contours of her back. She was fast asleep, her problems seemingly forgotten. I wish I could say the same. Every other thought I had centred around Juvia and my problems with her. I was confused about how I should treat her now that her automatic reaction was that anything I said or did was a 'good' sign. Most likely, even if I said 'I hate you' to Juvia's face she'd probably think it was a secret confession. But I wasn't so worried over her reaction as I was to my own.

Had I really thought she was pretty all this time and just ignored it? Was I doomed to always be attracted to her now that I'd re-noticed her? If those kind of questions weren't enough, a tiny voice in the back of my mind was telling me that if Cana's words were completely untrue then they wouldn't bother me so much, or at all. That was one particular train of thought I was _never_ going to explore. Talk about fucked up. I was not into all this emotional bullshit. I almost wished I could fuck her, get her out of my system, and move the hell on.

But I obviously couldn't do that.

Even if I did manage to cut Juvia loose afterwards, I'd only end up replacing Jellal as the girls number one enemy. I had a feeling Gajeel and I wouldn't feel eye to eye about that situation either. We were cool but I had the distinct impression that if I crossed the line with Juvia he wouldn't keep quiet. The exact location of that line was kind of vague. He obviously didn't give a damn if I gave Juvia the cold shoulder and he'd yet to pull the 'she's like my sister' crap on me...

Why was I thinking about this? I didn't want to be a jerk and hurt Juvia. I didn't want the girls to hate me, quite possibly, for life. I didn't want to screw over my friendship with Gajeel. Even if, by some crazy combination of her persistence and a lack of self-control from me, we did hook up, it'd be shit. That girl had innocent virgin written all over her. She'd probably be dead boring in bed, and ridiculously clingy afterwards. I was not dealing with that.

So why was Juvia still on my mind? I sighed and placed soft kisses all over Enno's bare shoulder. I should stick with what I knew. Nice, fun girls with no funny ideas about making our 'relationship' last longer than one night. Enno stirred and rolled onto her side so my hand ended up resting on her waist. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

She yawned, "Mmm, it's okay. Can't you sleep?"

No, I realised I couldn't. I'd been lying here with thoughts of Juvia going around and around in my head. What was I? A thirteen year old girl with a crush? Oh crap, that only reminded me of Cana's words. I buried my face in the crook of Enno's neck, "It's nothing."

I heard the smirk in her voice, "That means it's definitely something. You can tell me."

"I'm a man. Men do not _discuss _their problems."

She laughed, low and soft, and I felt that familiar desire for her. She was so bubbly and kind and easy going. And totally had been crying earlier. "What's up with you anyway?"

Her laugh faded away, "Just some silly girl drama."

My brain dredged up the memory from earlier and noticed something I'd missed. Those four girls laughed and walked away. Enno hadn't been laughing with them, she'd been getting laughed at by them. "Are those girls being horrible to you?"

"You can't ask me about my problem and not tell me about yours. It's unfair. I'll only tell if you do."

I wasn't about to start talking about one girl when I was in bed with another one but I decided to humour her, "Deal. Ladies first."

Enno took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Alright. It all started in October..."

Her story was one I'd heard before. Typical one girl starts doing something good with her life and all her so called friends get jealous and bitchy about it. I hadn't seen these other girls dance but if Enno was chosen for the lead role in the winter showcase then it was because she was better than them. If scouts from the various dance companies singled Enno out for extra attention then instead of being bitter and horrible these other girls should have worked harder to be noticed too. It was hardly Enno's fault that she was more talented than them. What was she supposed to do? Bring herself down to their level to boost their self-esteem? "They're just jealous," I told her.

"I know, my mom said that too. It's just that... We used to be such good friends. They obviously weren't real friends and I can take it if they want to ignore me, but I really hate the negative things they say. Especially the rumours."

"They talk about you behind your back?"

She nodded, "Mia, the one you saw earlier with the dark hair, was dating the boy who played the Prince. That's the main male lead in The Nutcracker so we danced together a lot. Plus, we had to work on the lifts and that takes extra time. Anyway, you know how late we tend to finish on normal practice nights, never mind when we have rehearsals to run through. He got into the habit of walking me home. He was only being nice, making sure I got home safe. You can imagine how Mia took that. Then he broke up with her in January and she blamed me. She said I'd been sleeping with him when I absolutely was not. Ever since then it's become almost like a game of theirs to add new names to the list of guys I've supposedly slept with."

"Don't they have anything better to do with their lives?" Girls could be bitchy at the best of times but throw the guy they liked into the mix and it got so much worse. As far as I knew, Enno wasn't a slut and even if she did sleep around I was confident it would never be with someone's boyfriend. That kind of behaviour didn't match her personality at all.

"They seem pretty content to ruin mine. At least we don't go the same school," she said softly.

I squeezed her into a tight hug. "Wont they feel stupid when you're accepted into a professional company and leave them all behind in the dust."

Enno shrugged and I knew she wasn't totally convinced. "Right, I'm done. So spill. What's keeping you up at night Gray? I know you weren't cruising past my dance studio by accident."

I understood a hint to change the subject when I heard one. To my surprise, sometime during her story I'd gotten over not wanting to tell Enno anything. She was hardly going to freak out about me thinking about another girl and for some reason the vibe between us felt really good. I wanted to tell her about Juvia. Her reaction was a little surprising though.

"She does what to you?"

"Follows me around and-"

"Oh I heard you! I'm just shocked," she seethed, "What kind of self-respecting woman does that kind of thing? I don't care how much she claims to love you. That is weird. Doesn't it annoy you?"

"Well yeah but-"

"Why haven't her friends told her to stop? Oh my god. I wish I knew this on Saturday. I would have given her a piece of my mind!"

"I think they have told her," I said, vaguely amused by the idea of Enno and Juvia meeting. I had no doubt sparks would fly if that ever happened.

"And you like this girl?"

"Whoa, hold up. I didn't say I _like _her. She's pretty, funny and sweet when she's not freaking me out. I actually consider us friends, in a way. If she wasn't so clingy..." _I'd fuck her in an instant _I thought but didn't say. "Forget the stalking stuff. The real problem is I don't know how to act around her anymore."

"It kind of sounds like you might be a teeny tiny bit interested in this girl."

I thought about denying it but this was Enno. She was hardly going to run and tell all the other girls about what I'd said. "I might be. Strictly physically of course."

"Of course," Enno said and there was absolutely no doubt in her voice which made me feel a lot better. If she'd pulled a Cana move on me I'd have considered my life officially over. "If you want my advice then you need to keep telling her it's not okay for her to stalk you. It's creepy and sounds more like an unhealthy obsession than love."

"I guess."

"Why do you sound so cavalier about this?"

I shrugged, "I'm use to it. Sure it annoys me, sometimes I feel angry about it and other times I wished she'd just go away but it's gotten to the point now that I notice more when she's _not _there. Because she's usually always there. It's like when you purposely set your clock five minutes fast so that you won't be late and someone comes and changes it to the correct time. All of a sudden you're late to everything because your normal sense of time has been thrown off." I wasn't making any sense, even to myself, but that was how it felt. I'd been thrown off centre by Juvia on Saturday night and every day since then I'd been struggling to regain my sense of balance. I had never thought about how peculiar it was to have Juvia following me around. It was just something that happened all the time. Enno reached out and turned her bedside table lamp on and gave me a quizzical look.

"You do like it," she said accusingly.

"No I don't. I said I'm use to it. That's different."

"But if she stopped, you'd miss it. It would 'throw you off'."

I shrugged, "I suppose I'd get use to her not doing it, eventually."

Enno laughed, "Oh my gosh. I was wondering when this would happen to you."

"What?"

"No-th-ing," she said a singsong lilt in her voice that said 'I know something you don't know.'

"Enno."

"Okay," she said suddenly serious again, "I will help you out. Whether you like it or not, I stand by the statement that she needs to cut that stalker crap out. As for you, treat her the way you feel like treating her. If her reaction is the same anyway then don't force yourself to act around her. If she's being too clingy and annoying you, say so but if you feel like being nice to her than be nice to her."

"But-"

"No buts. You always pretend that you don't care about any girl but you're so careful to only hook up with ones you know you won't hurt. If you've met someone who makes you feel something then you should go after her."

"I don't feel anything for Juvia," I said, slightly annoyed. This was beginning to sound like a watered down, nice version of Cana's speech.

"Yes, you do. Even if it's just lust, that's still a feeling."

How exasperating. "But if I treat her the way I am with other girls... What I mean is she won't react like you. She won't think it's just for fun."

"Then don't do it for fun."

I let out a long breath, "You know I don't get into relationships and if I was going to it definitely wouldn't be with Juvia. She's a pain in the ass."

"Things change. I think you might find yourself thinking differently if you stop fighting the inevitable."

"The inevitable?"

Enno shrugged, "Nobody chooses how, when or with who they fall in love."

I groaned, "Not you too. I am never, ever, falling in love with Juvia or anybody. Especially Juvia. Ever."

Enno only smiled and flicked the lamp back off. "I know you'll do the right thing," she said cryptically and snuggled into me.

I sighed and pulled her closer. Treat Juvia how I wanted to. That would make my life even more complicated than it already was. It seemed like my only option though. I really couldn't see myself faking disinterest in her. The last few days it'd been hard enough trying to ignore her. Before last weekend, my apathy towards her would have been genuine but now, I found myself watching her all the time. Damn her for becoming so fucking pretty!

* * *

><p><em>Two days later<em>

It was early Friday morning, there was a bright yellow butterfly clip in my hair and I felt glorious. Gray-sama and I finally had a normal conversation yesterday! He still seemed reluctant to be near me and his eyes rarely met mine but it was such a relief after days of being ignored and avoided. I spent ten seconds making sure the bow on my present for him was perfectly straight. I'd been so happy I couldn't resist putting my love for Gray-sama into some chocolate chip cookies. They were safely packaged in a mason jar so they wouldn't crumble to pieces. All I had to do was give them to him. I breezed into his homeroom and promptly bumped into a younger girl.

"Sorry sempai," she said giving me a slight bow. Her dark blue hair reminded me of Wendy for a second but the colour of this girl's school ribbon identified her as a freshman whilst Wendy was still in middle school so my confusion was only momentary.

"Don't worry," I replied cheerfully and continued on my way. I stopped in front of Gray-sama's desk and the smile that had seemed permanently plastered on my face faded instantly. There was a gift already there. It was beautiful wrapped in thick, gold cloth with a perfect bow on top. Obviously done by a girl and not just any girl. One with steady hands and a great eye for beauty. My good mood evaporated instantly. My simple gift looked boring and plain next to this extravagance.

Who _dared _make a move like this on my Gray-sama?

I stared mutinously at the box but it didn't spontaneously combust like I would have hoped. A card was tucked under the bow. My hands moved of their own accord, rotating the present around so I could read the message. _Thanks for everything Gray. Love, Katja. _My eyes registered the round, curvy letters written in delicate cursive, the little heart instead of a dot over the letter J. I sucked in a sharp breath. Every five seconds I got another love rival. It was so annoying. "Who left this?" The question was out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

In all my excitement, I'd rushed ahead of all the other girls to get here super early so the classroom was all but deserted. Lucy was there though, completely absorbed in her phone to the point that she hadn't even noticed me. She looked up at the sound of my voice and shrugged, "Morning, Juvia. There was a freshman here earlier looking for Gray's desk. I guess someone has a little crush."

I saw red. Took a deep breath. Told myself she was only a little kid. Not real competition. Breathe Juvia, breathe. I tried counting slowly to ten. I made it to four then abandoned reasonable thought, picked up the box and chased after that girl. The hallway was filling up and I was going the wrong way, trying to get down the stairs while all the other seniors were coming up them. I leaned over the banister and saw short, blue hair two turns below me. "Hey, Katja!" I yelled and she looked up at me with wide brown eyes. "Don't move," I ordered her and a look approaching panic flitted across her face.

* * *

><p>Surprisingly, yesterday hadn't been so bad. Enno's advice seemed to be working. I'd avoided eye-fucking Juvia for most of the day and since I wasn't over thinking every word and action I felt a lot less stressed. Juvia was being Juvia. She hadn't changed. I had. For some reason, knowing she'd always be her same self made me feel a lot more in control. I had, however, ignored some of Enno's advice. I was never going to tell Juvia to stop following me around for one simple reason. No matter how much I lusted after her, she'd always do something stupid or annoying and effectively shoot herself in the foot. As long as she kept being quirky, even if more situations like the one at Risley's party cropped up, I could always trust her to turn me off in some way before things got too far. The plan was foolproof. I could subtly check her out, dabble with the thought of maybe giving in to this stupid craving I had for her body and then be jerked back to reality whenever Juvia did something outlandish. At worst I might succumb to kissing her but I figured that'd be okay. Surely, I wouldn't be her first kiss. She was eighteen for goodness sake. A kiss might be a big deal to her but it wasn't serious enough that I'd feel like a bastard and if I convinced her not to tell anyone... Yeah, I felt much better than I had before.<p>

I'd more or less resolved my problem, other people weren't so lucky. I looked to my left at Jellal and then to my right at Erza. I'd bumped into them at the bottom of the stairs. There was nothing but anxious silence from him and equally silent smugness from her. Erza had that expression on her face a woman wears when she knows she's got you by the balls and you can't escape. On the average woman it spelt bad news, with Erza it was a omen of impending disaster. The tension between the two of them was ridiculous and there I was, sandwiched between them. I loosened two more of the buttons on my shirt and prayed all three of us made it to our home room in one piece.

* * *

><p>"Look kid, Juvia knows Gray-sama is the most amazing, wonderful guy in the whole world but Juvia would really appreciate it if you kept your schoolgirl crush to yourself. You know, observe him from a distance or something. Gift giving to Gray-sama is patented by Juvia."<p>

Katja blinked. When I'd caught up to her she'd been full of apologies for bumping into me, as if that was the issue. I don't know what there was for her to be confused about but she had nothing to say about imposing on my Gray-sama. She seemed vaguely familiar too, now that I was getting a better look at her. I sighed and shoved the box into her arms, "Here, take it."

She looked down at the box and then up at me, even more confusion spreading over her face. "But this is for Gray."

"No," I said patiently, "It's not."

"Yes, it is."

Persistent little thing. "He doesn't want it. He won't be interested in a lolita."

"L-lo-lolita," she stammered, turning an alarming shade of red.

"Morning, Katja, Juvia," said Gray-sama turning the corner of the stairs with Jellal and Erza. His shirt was almost completely unbuttoned and he had his hands casually shoved in his pockets. So hot!

* * *

><p>Katja looked down at me with wide eyes and a tomato red face. She let out a raspy little cry, dropped the box she was holding and crossed her arms over her chest. The box hit the top stair and flip-flopped down several more like a slinky I remembered owing as a kid. Above the noise in the hallway there was the obvious sound of broken glass, made worse by each revolution of the box. A few students dodged out of its path, trying not to step on it, and I rushed up a few stairs to halt its progress. A card had come flying out of the box and Jellal handed it to me. "Sorry, I startled you and now your gift sounds broken." I didn't know why she was so jumpy today. It was weird. "Thanks anyway. Is it something we could fix?"<p>

Katja's bottom lip trembled and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Fucking hell. Every time I showed up somewhere a girl was crying. They were really out to get me this week. Erza went into full on mother mode. She denied it, and hide it well, but she was an older sister to all the girls in the younger years. They more or less worshipped her as their idol. Violent tendencies aside, I figured she was a pretty good role model. She whisked Katja away down the hall, one arm over the younger girl's shoulders, saying something low and soft to her.

"What the hell was that about?" Jellal asked.

I looked down at the box and shrugged. "No idea."

Juvia smiled and waved at me. I let her take my arm as we walked up the rest of the stairs. Pretended not to notice her shoving cookies into my school bag. I always claimed not to want the things she made but the truth was she was a great cook. "Your hair clip is pretty," I said and Juvia glowed.

* * *

><p>"So for the exam don't just write down everything you remember but make sure your answer is relevant to the question. Natsu, I'm talking to you." There was gentle laughter and our biology teacher started writing a list of revision topics on the board. It was the last day of classes for the seniors. After today we'd be on study leave. A few busy weeks of revision, a few tense days of exams then it was nothing but prom, graduation and one last fun packed summer before we went to college. My mind couldn't help wondering if I'd be Gray-sama's girlfriend by then. If I played this right, if I kept pushing this change in our relationship, maybe, just maybe...<p>

A whirlwind of brown hair and uniform erupted through the door of the classroom. Our teacher sighed, "Coco, how many times do I have to tell you not to run. And knock!"

Coco executed a flawless salute and whipped out her notebook, "Sorry!" The teachers complained about her running but that didn't stop them using her as the schools unofficial messenger. "Juvia Lockser," she announced.

I raised my hand, slightly surprised. "Erza-sempai wants to see you." There was a low murmur and I felt everyone's eyes on me. Being summoned by the student council president in the middle of class was usually a bad thing. Especially since Erza and I were such good friends. She could talk to me whenever she wanted to. "Okay," I flashed an easy smile, even though butterflies danced in my stomach.

Keeping up with Coco was impossible so I made my own way from the science block over to the student council room. Erza was behind her desk, twirling a pen around and around. She gave me a serious look which confirmed my suspicions that this was not a casual girly get together. I instantly feared the worse. All year I'd been worried that someone would find out about my past. Makarov-sensei had said it was unlikely but unlikely didn't mean impossible.

"Erza-san..."

"Sit," she said and sighed. "I'm use to telling the boys off. I've given up reforming Cana's drinking. I didn't think I'd ever have to talk to you."

"If this is about Oak Town, I can explain. Please don't tell Gray-sama," I said in a rush.

"Oak Town? This is about this morning. With Katja."

Oh. "That girl with the crush on Gray-sama?"

"No, the girl who was traumatised when you called her a lolita," Erza said with her usual point blank abruptness.

I opened my mouth to deny it, at least the traumatised bit, but Erza continued. "I know it's funny when we tease Levy about being one. Still, you have to remember that other people outside our circle of friends won't know it's a joke. Katja is fourteen and very shy. She used to be home-schooled, has made hardly any close friends and one of the few people she's opened up to this year is Gray. You come along and tell a sensitive girl that she's acting like a lolita. Is it any wonder she freaked out? She's more or less convinced herself that Gray's been nice to her all year because she acts flirty around him. Which, for your information, she doesn't. I had to send her home, she was crying so much."

Shit. I felt horrible. I hadn't thought Katja would react like that. "Juvia is really sorry," I tapped my index fingers together, "Juvia doesn't like other girls giving presents to Gray-sama."

"It was only a thank you gift for how he's helped her in the art club this year. Juvia, we all know how much you like Gray, but if your feelings for him turn you into a mean girl then you need to check yourself."

I nodded, thoroughly ashamed. I'd known at the time that Katja wasn't real competition for me. I just couldn't help myself. "Juvia will try harder to not get jealous." I could admit it. Jealousy was a feeling I'd become very familiar with this year. All the girls Gray flirted with and slept with, had made me insecure about myself.

"Good. You can start this afternoon by writing a letter of apology," Erza said pushing a red slip across the desk at me.

"Eh? Detention? But it's Friday! I've never missed watching Gray-sama train!"

"First time for everything."

"Erza, please." This was the absolute worst.

"Sorry Juvia. This is the last day of term for us so there's no other time for you to do it anyway. Remember what I told you on your first day? Magnolia High has a zero tolerance policy on bullying."

"I wasn't-" Ah, _that_ look from Erza. In the interest of self-preservation, I shut up.

* * *

><p>Lunch was a quiet affair. Down one end of the table, Lucy and Natsu were lost in their own little world, sharing a set of earphones and listening to god knows what. Across from them, Levy was tutoring Gajeel, as usual. There'd hardly been a moment over the last month that I hadn't seen their heads together over some book. Her voice was soft as she pointed out how to rearrange one of our maths equations. His forehead was furrowed with concentration. If Gajeel didn't make it to college it wouldn't be for lack of trying.<p>

Next to Levy, Erza was eating sushi. She still had that same look on her face from this morning and was humming to herself between bites. Her legs were crossed and she was swinging her top foot. Every few seconds her shoe bumped against my leg under the table. It was slightly annoying but kind of cute too. Juvia was sitting next to Erza, picking at her lunch. She seemed down. Which made two of my friends since on this side of the table Jellal, who was sitting next to me, had spent most of lunch staring at Erza like a lost puppy. I was wedged at the end of the table with Mr. Lonely, Miss. Pensive and Miss. Smug. I should have snuck away for a drink with Cana.

I resisted the urge to sigh and smoothed out the sketch Katja had given me. A pretty good likeness of her and me in soft charcoal. The frame had been broken beyond redemption. A wreck of shattered glass and twisted wood. I'd gone looking for her, to check she was okay, but been told she'd gone home. Erza kicked me again, yanking me from my thoughts. I caught her shoe in my hand and pulled it off. Within seconds I was tickling her foot. She squirmed and laughed, "Gray! Stop it!"

"Quit kicking me girl!"

"I'll stop! I'll stop! Gray, please! I can't breathe!"

I pulled off her sock, freeing her toes, determined to keep it up until she begged for mercy. Everyone on our table was laughing. Well, not everyone. Jellal looked horrified and Juvia was giving me a look that sent a shiver down my spine. It was the same one from Saturday night. That look of total anger, directed straight at me. I stopped tickling Erza, her foot resting in my lap. Erza was still laughing, trying to catch her breath. Her hair tie had come loose sending her crimson hair cascading over her shoulders. She looked outrageously pretty and truly happy for the first time all week.

Jellal took Erza's ankle in one hand, and her sock in another. She slowly stopped laughing as he eased her sock back on. "I guess flirting with Gray makes you happy," he said softly.

Erza jerked her foot out of his grasp. Her voice was caustic as she said, "I can think of things that would make me happier."

Damn. What was up with these two?

Juvia propped her chin up on one arm and gave them a bored look, "You call that flirting? On Saturday Gray-sama almost kis-"

Oh hell no.

* * *

><p>I'd never seen Gray-sama move so fast. He grabbed my arm, jerked me out of my chair and literally marched me out of the cafeteria. I heard someone, maybe Natsu, asking where we were going but Gray wasn't stopping for anyone. He dragged me down the hall. I didn't care. I'd been trying so hard this week, this month, this year, for his attention. What had I gotten out of it? I'd become so tangled up in him that I was willing to pick a fight with a freshman over a silly little gift. Katja went home crying and Gray ended up with her present anyway. For the first time I wondered if maybe I was a little over the top when it came to Gray-sama. I mean, really, what had I been thinking this morning?<p>

Gray jerked open a random door. It was some kind of storage cupboard, rammed with mops, brooms and other cleaning supplies. Bizarrely, he shoved me in and shut the door. "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What the hell are you doing?" He hissed at me. In the confined space our bodies were close, chests touching every time we breathed. I had to tilt my head back to look into his eyes. The deep blue orbs pierced me, pinning me where I was even more than his hands gripping my upper arms.

This was why. Because I'd do anything for him to always look at me, only me. Literally, anything.

* * *

><p>Juvia looked unbearably sad. Her anger had gone so fast I wondered if I'd imagined it. The bare light bulb above us swung slowly to and fro, giving off a weak yellow glow and casting eerie shadows. I wasn't thinking when I dragged her in here. I just knew I wanted to get her out of sight before she spilled the truth about Saturday but now we were alone and she was so close to me. Too close. I could smell her perfume, feel her trembling. I ran my hands gently up and down her arms, "What's wrong with you?"<p>

"Juvia is sad."

"Yeah, I got that." I didn't want to ask why. It'd probably be something like 'Gray-sama is ignoring me'. I didn't care, not really. Well, maybe a little if I was honest.

Treat her how you want to, Enno's words echoed in my head.

* * *

><p>Gray's hands travelled down my arms again but this time his fingers found mine. He leaned into me and we were face to face, chest to chest, palm to palm. I stopped breathing.<p>

"Don't cry. I hate it when girls cry." Gray's forehead came to rest against mine. My lungs burned and for a moment we were sharing even the same air. I had to wonder if this was an elaborate dream.

"Gray-sama do you think Juvia is a mean girl?"

"No. I'm not friends with any mean girls."

I squeezed his hands and felt a thrill when he returned the gesture. "So... We're friends?"

"Of course."

"Really? You kiss all of the girls you're friends with?" It was a leading question. Gray was a flirt but there was an obvious line between girls he'd get with and girls he wouldn't. I had a suspicion that I was on the edge of switching groups.

He leaned back from me, "I didn't kiss you."

True enough. "You _almost_ kissed Juvia."

"Almost never makes it, as Grace would say." He flashed me his signature smile and my knees went weak.

"Gray-sama wanted to kiss Juvia?"

* * *

><p>I shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not." Unsurprisingly, Juvia was cheering up fast. Nobody lasted this long with an unrequited love without a certain level of resiliency. I wiggled my hands free of hers but in this small space there was no way to escape her nearness. Yet again I was slapped in the face by how pretty she was.<p>

The how, where and when was a mystery to me but going by my now textbook reaction to her it was only a matter of time before Juvia would get her kiss. Which meant I had to lay down the ground rules now. "Juvia."

"Yes, Gray-sama."

"I don't like girls that kiss and tell." She nodded automatically then her eyes widened with understanding.

"Juvia will remember from now on but Gray-sama, Juvia's only been _almost_ kissed. Perhaps you should finish the job. You know, so Juvia has something to not tell about."

I _almost_ laughed. "Alright. Close your eyes."


End file.
